Date saved: 2026-10-27 18:00 (PDT)
Sources: Democracy Now, Unicorn Riot, CrimethInc, It's Going Down, The Guardian, BBC, Reuters, Sky News, DW News, France 24, AP Archive, Gaslit Nation, Minnesota Public Radio, CBS News Minnesota, The Intercept
Key findings
The Minnesota 15 and the NSPM-7 conspiracy theory
- Democracy Now (Jun 17, 2026): Federal prosecutors in Minnesota announced criminal charges against 15 people in connection with anti-ICE protests in the Twin Cities. The defendants are accused of "conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers" and of allegedly "violently" impeding immigration enforcement in Minneapolis during Trump's Operation Metro Surge, during which thousands of federal immigration agents were deployed and fatally shot two U.S. citizens. The indictment focuses on Direct Action Minnesota, or DAMN, a broad activist coalition that prosecutors have linked to anti-fascist, or "antifa," groups. Last fall, President Trump categorized antifa as a "domestic terror organization" even though it is not an actual group. The federal indictment names two organizations . Direct Action Minnesota and the Black Cat Workers Collective . which federal prosecutors have accused without evidence of having links to anti-fascist or Antifa groups. (Source)
- Unicorn Riot (Jun 17, 2026): A new federal indictment charged 15 Minnesotans in an eight-count felony conspiracy for their activism during Operation Metro Surge. Unicorn Riot's reporting on the case includes video interviews with defendants Alec "Mac" Stewart and Emmett Doyle speaking out, and coverage of Cameron Kennedy of the Minnesota 15 speaking on dragnet indictments. The indictment peddles the DOJ's "Antifa" conspiracy angle after raids. (Source)
- Unicorn Riot (Oct 2026): Minnesota 15 defendant Alec "Mac" Stewart speaks out. Minnesota 15 defendant Emmett Doyle speaks out. Cameron Kennedy of the Minnesota 15 speaks on dragnet indictments. Family and advocates demand funding for Minnesota's Conviction Review Unit after its closure. (Source)
- The Intercept / Democracy Now (Jun 2026): The Department of Homeland Security investigated and surveilled the Sunrise Movement . a climate organization . and infiltrated it with undercovers because Sunrise was involved in anti-ICE protests. The investigation fed into the dragnet that produced the Minnesota 15 charges. (Source)
- YouTube / Democracy Now (Jun 17, 2026): "The Point Is to Spread Fear" . DOJ Charges 15 with Conspiracy for Anti-ICE Protests in Minnesota. Democracy Now's coverage of the indictment, the organizations named, and the legal analysis of why the antifa designation is a fiction. (Source)
France: 50 antifa groups join network ahead of weekend protests
- Unicorn Riot (Oct 23, 2026): Hundreds of thousands took to the streets across France on October 17, in a day marked by mass demonstrations, fierce clashes with police, widespread looting, and attacks on public buildings. Activists described the events to Unicorn Riot as among "the fiercest riots France has experienced since World War II." As a new generation of protesters challenges rising living costs, deteriorating schools, and nearly a decade of Macron's presidency, the government is preparing a sweeping crackdown. The next major day of protest was expected on Saturday, October 24 . calls to mobilize are circulating on TikTok and other social media platforms. Further demonstrations are being promoted for October 31, coinciding with Halloween. (Source)
- Ground News / Agence France-Presse (Oct 2026): 50 French antifa groups joined a network ahead of weekend protests. French intelligence assessment reportedly links antifa and far-left groups to France riots. Catalonia asks WhatsApp and Telegram to close the chats that incite violence. (Source)
- CrimethInc (Oct 6, 2026): French Youth Take the Streets against a Bleak Future . a report from CrimethInc on the movement in France, covering the student protests, the broader grievances, and the response from the state. (Source)
- CrimethInc (Oct 22, 2026): Introducing the NSPM-7 Defendants Union . CrimethInc's coverage of the union formed by defendants charged under the NSPM-7 conspiracy theory, coordinating their legal defense and organizing support. (Source)
The Trump administration's antifa crackdown . roundtable, indictments, and fleeing scholars
- Democracy Now (Oct 2026): Trump holds roundtable on Antifa, claims to go after its "funders." Trump loyalist announces first indictment of left-wing activists after Trump's antifa order. Anti-fascism scholar flees U.S. fearing for his family's safety amid Trump's "Antifa" fearmongering. Trump announces first indictment under antifa order. (Source)
- Democracy Now (Oct 23, 2026): Seven more receive harsh sentences for "terrorism" after attending protest at Texas ICE jail. Texas ICE protesters: Texas ICE protesters get up to 100 years in prison as Trump targets anti-fascists. (Source)
- Gaslit Nation (Oct 26, 2026): Sarah Kendzior and Mike Rothschild's daily news show covers the Trump administration's antifa crackdown in the context of the broader corruption and authoritarian stories of the week. (Source)
Far-right response and counter-mobilizations
- Unicorn Riot (Aug 22, 2026): Minneapolis once again thwarts white supremacist Jake Lang. Minneapolis police arrested white supremacist provocateur Edward Jacob "Jake" Lang after hundreds of residents came out to protest his second hate rally. Lang, a January 6 participant and violent agitator, has been touring American courtrooms . appearing via Zoom into a court hearing in St. Paul on October 9 as the Minnesota state government argued its case against him for kicking over an ice sculpture reading "Prosecute ICE" in front of the state capitol building in February. (Source)
- Unicorn Riot (Oct 19, 2026): How the Proud Boys lost their name . Unicorn Riot's coverage of the far-right street gang's internal chaos and the legal and organizational challenges that have fragmented the group since founder Gavin McInnes fled to Canada. (Source)
- The Guardian (Oct 27, 2026): "Shameful" . Alex Pretti's parents accuse Trump officials of shielding son's killers. Pretti, a 29-year-old medical student, was shot and killed by federal agents during an ICE operation in Minneapolis in January 2026. (Source)
- CrimethInc (Oct 15, 2026): The Encampment Movement against Evictions and Gentrification . a report from Madrid and Barcelona on the anti-eviction movement in Spain, where housing activism intersects with anti-fascist and anti-capitalist organizing. (Source)
It's Going Down . movement coverage
- It's Going Down (Oct 2026): It's Going Down is a digital community center for anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist, and anti-colonial movements. Recent coverage includes reports from ongoing anti-ICE actions in Aurora, Colorado, Texas antifascist news from Austin, and the Houston antifascist counter-mobilization against neo-Nazis and white supremacists holding "White Lives Matter" demonstrations. (Source)
Antifa is under coordinated attack from the Trump administration on multiple fronts at once. In June 2026, federal prosecutors in Minnesota unsealed a 15-defendant indictment charging conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers . naming Direct Action Minnesota and the Black Cat Workers Collective, organizations prosecutors accused without evidence of having links to anti-fascist groups. The indictment was the first concrete result of Trump's September 2025 executive order designating antifa as a "domestic terror organization" . a designation that has no legal basis because antifa is not an organization but a decentralized movement. The charges carry the potential for decades in prison for people whose actual conduct involved protesting ICE detention and obstruction charges.
The Minnesota 15 case is the test run for a broader crackdown. Trump held a roundtable on antifa and claimed he would go after its "funders." A Trump loyalist announced the first indictment of left-wing activists after the antifa order. An anti-fascism scholar fled the U.S. fearing for his family's safety. The Department of Homeland Security investigated and surveilled the Sunrise Movement . a climate organization . and infiltrated it with undercovers, apparently because Sunrise was involved in anti-ICE protests.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the movement's own media is covering what the wires don't. Unicorn Riot reported from France's October 17 protests . hundreds of thousands on the streets, burning barricades, and the government preparing military deployments. CrimethInc published a report on French youth taking to the streets against a bleak future. The NSPM-7 defendants . charged under the same conspiracy theory as the Minnesota 15 . formed a union to coordinate their defense. And the Proud Boys, the far-right street gang that started as an anti-fascist counter-movement's opposite, continue to lose their name and their coherence.
The throughline is that the Trump administration's antifa designation is a legal fiction being used as a hammer. The Minnesota 15 case will produce appellate rulings that test whether the conspiracy theory . that "antifa" is a co-conspirator entity . holds up in court. Watch those rulings. Watch whether more indictments follow the same pattern. And watch whether the movement's own infrastructure . the legal support networks, the prisoner support committees, the media collectives . can keep operating under the pressure.
Source links
- YouTube: "The Point Is to Spread Fear" . DOJ Charges 15 with Conspiracy for Anti-ICE Protests in Minnesota (Democracy Now!)
- YouTube: Gaslit Nation . Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner Must Be Stopped (Oct 26, 2026)
- Democracy Now!: Antifa . topic page covering Trump's antifa order, roundtable, indictments, and fleeing scholars
- Unicorn Riot: TikTok Revolt in France . A New Generation Takes To The Streets (Oct 23, 2026)
- Unicorn Riot: New Federal Indictment on Minnesota 15 Peddles DOJ "Antifa" Conspiracy Angle After Raids
- CrimethInc: French Youth Take the Streets against a Bleak Future (Oct 6, 2026)
- CrimethInc: Introducing the NSPM-7 Defendants Union (Oct 22, 2026)
- It's Going Down: Digital community center for anarchist, anti-fascist, and anti-capitalist movements
- Unicorn Riot: Minneapolis Once Again Thwarts White Supremacist Jake Lang
- The Guardian: "Shameful" . Alex Pretti's parents accuse Trump officials of shielding son's killers