Treasure Thoreson is one of 15 people, so far, charged with protesting the action of ICE agents. Photo by Sarah Whiting

In February, Treasure Thoreson found herself adopting a new duty as a special education teacher in Minneapolis public schools: taking a Lyft to school with one of her students to ensure the child’s safety during the ICE occupation.

The student’s family was sheltering in place as protection. They did not want to take their child to school out of fear of leading ICE to their home; she had been absent for weeks. Eventually, Thoreson and the family devised the solution involving Lyft, Thoreson, and a community volunteer. 

“The first day we rode to school together, her face lit up as soon as we pulled up to the school parking lot. I hadn’t seen her that happy ever,” Thoreson says. 

In early June, Thoreson’s work to help her community during Operation Metro Surge led to seven federal officers showing up on her front lawn. 

Thoreson and 14 others were indicted on charges of conspiracy to impede or injure federal agents. The government stated that the conspiracy climaxed with the use of blockades outside the Whipple Building. Messages on the encrypted app Signal and meetings Thoreson and others participated in were cited as evidence. 

The Role of Organizers

The charges against Thoreson echo a national picture regarding the federal government’s fear of organizers.

Thoreson met other members of the MN 15 through other labor organizing work. As a 13-year Minneapolis resident, Thoreson got involved in activism because of police shootings in 2015 and 2016. She is an active union member on the executive board of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT).

During COVID, she got more deeply involved in her union: negotiating safe conditions and making sure the school she worked at was following policy. In 2022, when the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers went on strike for the first time in 50 years, Thoreson stepped up as a captain and was on the picket line with union members for 14 days.

“Our unions hold a lot of power when we come together; I see that work going hand in hand with this activism work,” Thoreson said. “MFT has put a focus on social justice issues, and that’s brought together this work I’ve been doing in one space.”

The existence of strong unions and long-time activist organizing is one reason Minnesota communities were able to come together efficiently during Operation Metro Surge.

“The fact that we were able to organize so well and so quickly is scary for the current administration,” Thoreson says. “They don’t want to see what happened here happen anywhere else.”

This fear isn’t new. The federal government has surveilled the labor movement and many other organizations for decades. In 1919–20, the U.S. Department of Justice conducted the Palmer Raids, using mass surveillance to monitor, arrest, and deport immigrant labor organizers associated with unions like the Industrial Workers of the World.

A century later, university administrations and local law enforcement monitored, tracked, and shared intelligence on graduate student worker organizers across several campuses. 

The 15 community organizers indicted are connected with groups such as Direct Action Minnesota, Black Cat Workers’ Collective, and the Ray Rainbolt Memorial Shooting Club.

These are among the organizations the Department of Justice has labeled “Antifa” groups — anti-fascist organizers who are countering white supremacists and far-right nationalists.

As part of the grand jury presentation in the case of the MN15 protestors, the Justice department displayed a diagram arguing that several major labor unions were connected in the “conspiracy” at the core of the case, including churches and organizations like AFL-CIO, Monarca, and others. 

On August 13, The New York Times published a story naming the labor federation as part of the Justice Department’s conspiracy theory against labor organizers relating to the prosecution of the Minnesota 15. 

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham responded in a press release saying, “The Minnesota AFL-CIO and several of our affiliated unions are being targeted simply because our state’s Labor Movement stood in solidarity with our immigrant union members and neighbors when our state was under siege this past winter.”

Burnham went on to compare the Trump administration’s attacks on unions and organizers rallying with immigrants to the 1950s McCarthyism. “It didn’t work in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accused anyone he didn’t like of being unamerican and it won’t work for Donald Trump. The Labor Movement was instrumental in creating America’s middle class and we will not let any attack distract us from continuing to improve the lives of working people,” Burnham wrote. 

The primary charge the Minnesota 15 face is conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, but also interstate stalking and threats, intention to commit a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer, and destruction of government property. 

The 15 Minnesotans impacted have been advised to not talk about the charges while their lawsuits are pending.

The Indictment

Some of the actions in the indictment include making anti-ICE statements online, planning and attending anti-ICE protests, and engaging in rapid response and mutual aid. Thoreson, among others, was listed in the indictment as participating in soft blockades around the Whipple Building — using homemade shields to “physically resist the efforts of law enforcement,” as stated in the indictment. The document also listed Thoreson as organizing a planning chat for individuals interested in serving as a marshall at protests. No specific acts of violence were stated in the indictment.

Fourteen of the defendants pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance; the 15th defendant was jailed in Michigan in connection with a separate case.

The case against the Minnesota 15 is part of a larger scheme around the United States today, in which people in Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, and Ohio thus far are brought up on charges of conspiracy for organizing in their community. 

“People need to pay attention now because the [federal government is]  going to refer to people as good protesters and bad protesters. But they’re not going to stop with the so-called bad protesters,” Thoreson says. “ They’re going to keep coming after people who are using their freedom of speech to decry what’s happening. We have to be able to continue [speaking up]. It’s part of our heritage as Americans to fight back in the face of injustice.”

The court indictment does not describe a specific action, but a series of meetings and protests the people were part of — as were thousands of others during the ICE occupation. The accusations include making anti-ICE statements online, planning and attending anti-ICE protests, and being part of rapid response and mutual aid efforts. The FBI indicates this was evidence of a “conspiracy to injure or impede federal officers.”

Overall, the public response to Thoreson’s indictment has been positive. She’s felt uplifted by union siblings, community, and neighbors. But as a public school teacher, her contact information is available on a school website, giving anyone access to her Google Voice number. One person “called and left a nasty message, telling me to kill myself,” Thoreson says. 

Thoreson’s main concern is whether she’s still being surveilled by the government. “This experience has definitely made me think about how we can organize differently in the future. It’s made me think harder about my own security protocols and being aware of what’s happening around me,” Thoreson says.

Teaching and Activism

Thoreson sees public schools at the center of their communities. In the midst of Operation Metro Surge, Thoreson saw families turn to their schools for food, rent, or ride assistance. At one point, nearly half of Thoreson’s school opted to partake in digital learning because families were sheltering in place, and many families were afraid to let their children walk home or ride the bus. 

“Working in education helped me step more fully into being an activist,” Thoreson says. “When you live and work in the same community as your students, you know under what conditions kids are showing up every day. You see the roadblocks that are getting in their way.”

At Thoreson’s school, all teachers made sacrifices to ensure that all students and families had what they needed. Thoreson’s school held a fundraiser to help pay rent and delivered groceries to families who were sheltering in place — at one point delivering to over 50 homes. 

“We’re still connected, because I don’t think this is over,” Thoreson says. 

She also knows students were absorbing what was going on during the ICE occupation. “I think a lot of people would be surprised at what we hear kids talk about on the playground. It comes out in their conversations. The kids definitely were carrying this with them, and still are,” Thoreson says. 

Preparing for this new school year, Thoreson anticipates the aftershocks of Metro Surge carrying into her classroom. She hopes her students “see the value in community, in coming together to support and uplift one another — in putting at center those with the most need.” She wants everyone in her community “to live dignified lives that are more than subsisting, but actually thriving.”

She hopes her students realize that the occupiers “want us to feel isolated and alone. As long as we keep showing up for one another, there’s always hopes.” 

Next Steps

The Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristian Weir and Sommer Honeycutt asked for 90 days to hand over evidence they’re required to provide to the defense after the defendants entered their not guilty pleas in early July. As the Minnesota 15’s trial progresses, Thoreson urges readers to get involved, proving that Minnesotans refuse to be divided. 

“We’re trying to pack every court to make sure that they understand that all the people’s eyes are on them right now. People want justice, and that means not turning a blind eye to the violence the government brought to our communities,” Thoreson says, especially during this election season.

• Minnesota 15 website. Their next court date will be announced on this site.

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