Through the Trump administration’s expansive National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), the federal government declared that it would “disband and uproot” groups that disagree with it. Based on fictions of leftist coordinated violence, former Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated this in an internal memorandum, ordering collaboration with state-level law enforcement for the government’s efforts. The White House then included in a sensational report, its 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy, that it would “prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist” by using “law enforcement tools to cripple them operationally.”
The extent and insidiousness of these tactics has come to light in Minneapolis. A discovery motion filed by a Minnesota 15 defendant has revealed the following:
- Operation Puppet Master, a “mass spying campaign” against social justice groups across Minneapolis. The operation involved undercover agents infiltrating groups and their communications, posing as “protesters or activists” in group chats and at “community meetings at churches, parks, libraries, union halls, schools and restaurants.”
- Project Whipple Shield, an investigation against leftist groups to identify and disrupt their operations. Unions, non-profit organizations, and their finances fell under the dragnet of the federal government’s surveillance and infiltrators.
- Undercover agents enticing people into committing crimes and providing financial information related to their organizing. The agents even showed up at numerous Minneapolis protests and group meetings that were unrelated to the investigation.
Government infiltration and surveillance of our movements are not new. Commentators have correctly compared these actions to the FBI’s COINTELPRO efforts. NLG is starkly aware of these undemocratic practices, itself being a target of infiltration throughout its history.
Indeed, given the administration’s and its supporters’ clear targeting of the Guild, we assume that agents provocateurs already attend our events and panels. Through its multiple reports and publications, this federal government is clearly signaling that the reality in Minneapolis is occurring at a national level.
NLG calls for our members, allies, and supporters to remain in even greater solidarity with our movements and with each other. Although we should not give in to fear, paranoia, or disorder in our work, we must be cautious as opposition to fascism grows in the U.S. and our movements attract more people. We must lean deeper into our trusted networks by building authentic, in-person relationships. We keep us safe.
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