Newly released documents show DHS used “Operation Puppet Master” to investigate 18 Minnesota progressive and mainstream groups that opposed Trump’s deportation raids, even though none of the organizations has been criminally charged.
DHS justified the probe by alleging the groups aided “violent opportunists” and provided “domestic terrorist financing,” then used administrative subpoenas, undercover agents, Signal-chat infiltration and license-plate tracking to gather records stretching back three years.
The investigation followed January deportation operations in Minnesota, where about 3,000 federal agents were deployed and protests erupted after ICE actions, including the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Prosecutors have charged 15 people with obstructing immigration operations, but a 94-page indictment alleges limited violence, similar cases have been dismissed at a high rate, and grand juries have resisted broader conspiracy charges.
The disclosures have intensified claims that the administration is criminalizing protected protest activity and reviving tactics reminiscent of the FBI’s COINTELPRO era.
How will the controversial use of facial recognition on peaceful activists reshape the future of privacy rights?
What secret details remain hidden within the mysterious Project Keyhole surveillance operation?
Inside the 2026 DHS Surveillance Dragnet: How Federal Raids and Digital Monitoring Threaten Labor and Civil Liberties in Minnesota
Overview
In early 2026, reports of fraud in Minnesota’s Somali community led the Trump administration to launch Operation Metro Surge, sending thousands of federal agents into the Twin Cities and causing mass arrests and disruption. Activist groups like Direct Action Minnesota responded with direct actions to block deportations, prompting coordinated federal raids and the arrest of the 'Minnesota 15' on conspiracy charges. Under expanded definitions of domestic terrorism, federal authorities deployed invasive surveillance—spanning undercover operations, digital monitoring, and financial probes—against activists, unions, and peaceful groups. This sweeping crackdown created a climate of fear, silencing dissent, undermining labor organizing, and triggering major legal and constitutional challenges.