{"id":16351,"date":"2026-07-25T03:14:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16351"},"modified":"2026-07-25T03:14:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:14:01","slug":"extremely-online-minnesota-antifa-cases-born-of-internet-beef-with-far-right-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16351","title":{"rendered":"Extremely Online: Minnesota \u2018Antifa\u2019 Cases Born of Internet Beef With Far-right Activists"},"content":{"rendered":"<script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<br><div id=\"article-content\">\n            \n\n\n\n\n<p>In two cases this year, federal prosecutors announced that they had finally done it: charged the \u201cantifa\u201d cells and its members that had beguiled federal law enforcement in Minnesota.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>It was a hard feat to pull off, given the group\u2019s notoriously <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/muckraker\/antifa-texas-trial-shideler\" target=\"_blank\">chaotic, loosely defined organizational structure<\/a>, and lingering questions about whether a group called antifa even exists in any coherent form. But in one case in Detroit, federal prosecutors brought charges against Kyle Wagner, who described himself in online diatribes as \u201cAntifa Kyle.\u201d For another case, brought in Minneapolis against 15 defendants, Wagner\u2019s inclusion among the defendants was enough to dub the entire group \u201cantifa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>A look under the hood of both cases suggests that they emerged from online and real-life beefs between left-leaning opposition activists and members of the far-right. Other outlets, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.startribune.com\/antifa-or-organizers-minnesota-prosecution-tests-trumps-legal-crackdown-on-the-left\/601860105\" target=\"_blank\">Minneapolis Star-Tribune<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/zeteo.com\/p\/trump-admin-dhs-arrest-antifascist-kyle-wagner\" target=\"_blank\">Zeteo<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/emptywheel.net\/2026\/06\/24\/daniel-rosen-hid-the-far-right-agitators-at-the-core-of-his-anti-ice-indictment\/\" target=\"_blank\"> emptywheel<\/a> have reported on some of these ties.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>It\u2019s a bizarre scenario in which federal law enforcement finds itself wading into microscopic disputes between local activists. Far-right agitators, at least one of whom was charged over January 6 and two of whom face ongoing criminal cases, and nearly all of whom spout racist rhetoric, are posting online about their pursuit of Minneapolis protesters that they accuse of impeding federal immigration enforcement. The irony isn\u2019t lost on some of the far-right figures on the periphery of these cases, one of whom marveled at the \u201cgrace\u201d the Trump administration afforded him in an interview with TPM.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>TPM has covered these cases in the context of NSPM-7, the Trump administration\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/the-trump-admins-mostly-unnoticed-move-to-crack-down-on-the-opposition\" target=\"_blank\">directive to federal law enforcement to treat a vague array of beliefs it dislikes<\/a> as potential indicia of domestic terrorism. As TPM first reported, the DOJ is <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/trump-doj-files-9-11-era-charges-against-leftists-across-the-country\" target=\"_blank\">operationalizing that via material support for terrorism charges<\/a> against activists around the country. It <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/exclusive-doj-taps-gang-terrorism-prosecutors-to-crack-down-on-political-groups\" target=\"_blank\">has a new task force, Joint Task Force Vanguard<\/a>, to implement the program, run by a gang prosecutor and a terrorism prosecutor. The gang prosecutor, <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/exclusive-trump-dojs-top-antifa-prosecutor-marched-with-crowd-on-jan-6\" target=\"_blank\">Brian W. Lynch, was at the Capitol on January 6<\/a>, TPM exclusively reported last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Vanguard brought the case last month against what activists have come to call the Minnesota 15. It\u2019s built partly around one figure, Wagner \u2014 a frequent target of these far-right influencers.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Wagner was initially charged in a February <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mied.391988\/gov.uscourts.mied.391988.10.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">indictment<\/a> with one count of cyberstalking and one count of making threats by interstate communications over an incident with far-right activist Jayden Scott.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>A prolific and incendiary user of the internet, Wagner became involved in an escalating series of taunts with Scott in January. Scott told TPM that he had traveled to Minneapolis that month, amid the <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/how-the-right-wing-outrage-machine-prompted-the-conflagration-in-minnesota\" target=\"_blank\">massive ICE crackdown<\/a> in the city, to stage \u201can anti-Islam, anti-Somali takeover\u201d demonstration. The day after Renee Good\u2019s killing, Scott was filmed yelling, \u201cwe executed one of you\u201d at anti-ICE protesters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>As the federal surge of immigration enforcement into Minneapolis continued, protests began to expand. Scott eventually singled out an independent journalist to target, Andrew Mercado, for posting a video Scott didn\u2019t like. Scott told TPM that he was upset that the video appeared to expose the personal details of an immigration officer.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>He told TPM that he decided on Jan. 28 to enter Mercado\u2019s apartment building and record a livestream; he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DUEEimsibmA\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\">posted<\/a> a video outside of Mercado\u2019s front door. Scott told TPM that it was \u201cto let him know that, you know, stop harassing the local federal agents, you know, stop doing this. It\u2019s that old adage, you know, do to others what you want done to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cWe just had to give him a quick reality check that, you know, this is still real life,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The video prompted a wave of online fury, including from Wagner. Federal prosecutors accused Wagner of posting Scott\u2019s address the next day. \u201cWe can all knock on strangers doors\u2026See you soon kiddo \u2013 stay safe out here,\u201d an indictment quoted Wagner as writing online.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Wagner was charged in February. The case was among the first that the DOJ promoted as part of its pursuit of \u201cantifa;\u201d in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/anti-ice-antifa-member-arrested-federal-charges-cyberstalking-and-threatening-communications\" target=\"_blank\">press release<\/a>, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jerome Gorgon cited scripture in justifying why federal law enforcement intervened.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cWe know that a \u2018worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.\u2019 And Wagner\u2019s alleged actions were an attempt to spread fire into our peaceful community. That is not going to happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Scott, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/got-address-minneapolis-reporter-receives-222513574.html\" target=\"_blank\">appears<\/a> to have faced no repercussions for entering Mercado\u2019s building, told TPM that he hopes to see Wagner executed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re calling for the death penalty,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd really we want it to be done by public hanging of Antifa Kyle,\u201d adding later that executing Wagner and the Minneapolis defendants would \u201csend a message to the communists that are trying to take over our country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>He also said that while federal law enforcement had backed off, he and other activists that he travels with have still faced pressure from state law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cFederally, we may have some grace,\u201d he observed. \u201cBut, still, at the local levels, we have state prosecutions in almost every state we go to.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-9d30c30b-7682-4b93-b629-361d8dbc3fdc\">Another, bigger case<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Scott has what you might describe as credibility issues. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox2detroit.com\/news\/man-claiming-run-michigan-company-before-viral-ice-protest-video-lied-about-position-ceo-says\" target=\"_blank\">accused<\/a> of lying about serving as the CEO of a healthcare company. His troubles with Michigan state courts include a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc12.com\/news\/crime\/man-accused-of-spreading-deepfakes-of-republican-faces-contempt-charge\/article_b6d89c07-5412-402b-bede-40a533851780.html\" target=\"_blank\">contempt charge<\/a> emanating from a child custody battle; Michigan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/news\/saginaw-bay-city\/2026\/01\/michigan-man-at-minnesota-rally-violated-judges-travel-order-prosecutors-want-him-jailed.html?utm_campaign=aanews_sf&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawTO9C9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFBV25uSmhsOXVpcDI3Rjg5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjZ1h-ihERnIf31J9rDXKDFQjBrJuNXuZH7bPFOmBU7e6k1Qfvn9QRYIfeqX_aem_GonYLtbSY9gA-reFpqFFZw\" target=\"_blank\">prosecutors reportedly said earlier this year that Scott had eight prior convictions<\/a> or adjudications relating to identity theft, retail fraud, larceny, domestic violence, assault, and attempting to flee police. He\u2019s the defendant in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc12.com\/news\/politics\/republican-seeks-judgment-for-fake-ads-in-35th-district-senate-race\/article_88e0b8dd-672d-4494-9d8a-a37d1fb83a10.html\" target=\"_blank\">lawsuit<\/a> in which a Michigan Republican state Senate candidate accused him of making deepfakes that defamed him.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Online and to TPM, Scott also suggested that he\u2019s been helping the federal government investigate Wagner and others. After Wagner\u2019s arrest, Scott posted a link to the case, writing \u201cWe had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with this\u201d and a winking emoji.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":1553054,\"sizeSlug\":\"large\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n<div class=\"GalleryImageWrapper\"><h2 class=\"GalleryImageWrapper__Title\"\/><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1390\" height=\"1376\" src=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image_4e39c6.png?w=804\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1553054\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image_4e39c6.png 1390w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image_4e39c6.png?resize=768,760 768w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image_4e39c6.png?resize=804,796 804w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image_4e39c6.png?resize=600,594 600w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image_4e39c6.png?resize=1000,990 1000w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image_4e39c6.png?resize=1200,1188 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1390px) 100vw, 1390px\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>To the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Scott <a href=\"https:\/\/www.startribune.com\/antifa-or-organizers-minnesota-prosecution-tests-trumps-legal-crackdown-on-the-left\/601860105\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>, \u201cwhen my team got into their Telegram groups, when we broke into their vibe-coded websites and got their emails, we sent it to Homeland Security Investigations to go ahead and get these people arrested.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>It\u2019s not clear whether anything that Scott claims to have provided actually made its way into the Wagner case. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office declined to comment. Wagner\u2019s attorney didn\u2019t return requests for comment. ICE, the parent agency of HSI, didn\u2019t return TPM\u2019s requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Wagner\u2019s case <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/minnesota-attorney-ice-protester-indictment\" target=\"_blank\">eventually grew into the \u201cMinnesota 15<\/a>.\u201d In that case, prosecutors are applying the kind of broad-based conspiracy charges \u2014 typically reserved for alleging a conspiracy against gang and drug distribution cases \u2014 on a group of anti-ICE protesters. Before prosecutors unveiled the case, rumors had been circulating among Minneapolis lawyers that federal prosecutors in Detroit were working on a conspiracy case involving their state.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The indictment includes long passages from Signal chats in which activists debate tactics and strategy, and cites remarks from an anarchist speaking tour, during which some of those charged described their experience in Minneapolis. It treats the removal of Customs and Border Protection Commander Greg Bovino and federal immigration agents from the city as a defeat for law enforcement, describing it at one point as \u201cthe success of efforts to impede federal immigration enforcement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Another figure looms over that case: Jake Lang, the January 6 defendant and far-right activist. This year alone, Lang <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox4news.com\/news\/jan-6-rioter-jake-lang-released-bond-ordered-leave-texas-within-24-hours\" target=\"_blank\">had to post a $250,000 bond <\/a>in Texas after getting arrested for threatening to kill a 17-year old. He pleaded guilty this week to a misdemeanor in D.C. Superior Court for telling a Capitol Police officer he should be \u201chung\u201d during a Jan. 6 anniversary event, and received a 180-day suspended sentence, <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1oPts4rEH-eo3PMKTIENXOIrmw9FmEOFM\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\">court records show<\/a>. In a separate case in Minnesota, Lang <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/minnesota\/news\/jake-lang-arrested-sculpture-minnesota-capitol-vandalism\/\" target=\"_blank\">pleaded<\/a> not guilty to a charge over his alleged vandalism of a sculpture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>As emptywheel\u2019s Marcy Wheeler first <a href=\"https:\/\/emptywheel.net\/2026\/06\/24\/daniel-rosen-hid-the-far-right-agitators-at-the-core-of-his-anti-ice-indictment\/\" target=\"_blank\">identified<\/a>, prosecutors removed a reference to Lang that Wagner included in an Instagram post from a photo in the indictment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Lang appears elsewhere in the document. At one point in February, a defendant purportedly sent a message asking for security \u201cin case actual fash (fascists)\u201d appeared \u2014\u00a0\u201dnot soft handed Jake.\u201d Prosecutors glossed this as a reference to Lang, writing \u201creference to right-wing influencer Jake Lang, who was assaulted by left-wing rioters in downtown Minneapolis on January 17, 2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Scott declined to answer more questions about what information he gave to the government and when. He did have his own run-in with the feds in Minneapolis: in January, he was <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mnd.233007\/gov.uscourts.mnd.233007.1.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">cited<\/a> federally in Minneapolis with obstruction for blocking a roadway and inciting others to do the same.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Prosecutors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/73021356\/united-states-v-scott\/?order_by=desc\" target=\"_blank\">agreed<\/a> to drop the charge on May 21, after, Scott claimed, he spoke directly with the prosecutor assigned to the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cWe talked about it, we communicated about it, and it went away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->          <\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n        appId: \"101800829865996\",\n        xfbml: true,\n        version: ' v2.6'\n      });\n      window.fbAsyncInit.__didInit = true;\n    };\n    (function(d, s, id) {\n      var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n      if (d.getElementById(id)) {\n        return;\n      }\n      js = d.createElement(s);\n      js.id = id;\n      js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n      fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n    }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n  <\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In two cases this year, federal prosecutors announced that they had finally done it: charged the \u201cantifa\u201d cells and its members that had beguiled federal law enforcement in Minnesota.\u00a0 It was a hard feat to pull off, given the group\u2019s notoriously chaotic, loosely defined organizational structure, and lingering questions about whether a group called antifa&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2261593510.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}