A court filing revealed that undercover ICE agents infiltrated Minneapolis protest circles and at least one agent volunteered to help Sunrise Movement organizers build tools for “direct-action” confrontational tactics, according to investigative documents provided to defense attorneys. The records, turned over in the defense of 15 Minnesota activists charged in June, show ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations opened two probes after federal agents killed Alex Pretti on January 24, naming them Operation Puppet Master and Project Whipple Shield, the latter referencing the Whipple federal building targeted by protests. The files show undercover agents attended Sunrise meetings and protests, secretly recorded conversations at churches, libraries, and schools, and subpoenaed the group’s financial records. Sunrise Movement Executive Director Aru Shiney-Ajay reiterated the group’s commitment to strict nonviolence and said the tactics aim to intimidate and shrink protest participation. The documents indicate the government monitored the group before the killings of Pretti and Renee Good and that defense attorneys now have evidence of active government enticement and undercover presence to use in court. The disclosure could directly affect ongoing prosecutions of the 15 activists and fuel legal challenges over the government’s investigative methods.
