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ICE Is Running One of the Largest Anti-Left Surveillance Ops in US History

wired.com1051 points848 comments
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Federal discovery in the prosecution of 15 Minnesota residents describes an extensive ICE Homeland Security Investigations campaign against people opposing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. The investigation, Project Whipple Shield, was funded through Operation Keyhole, an undercover program dating to 2008. Records indicate that more than 100 HSI agents, including at least 11 undercover operatives, took part. They infiltrated activist groups and Signal chats, attended trainings and meetings, monitored conferences in several states, photographed vehicles and checked license plates, and used drone footage. The investigation followed activists who used encrypted messaging, vehicle databases, and dispatch systems to track federal agents during Operation Metro Surge. Prosecutors characterize those activities as conspiracy, stalking, doxing, and obstruction; defense lawyers argue the charges vastly exceed the conduct alleged.

The records also show investigators combining financial, digital, and commercial data: scrutinizing wire transfers and online reimbursements, analyzing website traffic and Signal messages, and consulting data brokers and government databases to identify people. Some tools, including Patriot Act authorities generally used in terrorism and financial-crime cases, were reportedly brought to bear. Former law enforcement officials compare the campaign to past federal efforts to suppress civil rights and anti-war movements, noting that the Minnesota investigation alone involved more personnel than the CIA’s peak staffing for Operation MH/Chaos. They see it as part of a wider national effort, supported by new federal resources and a presidential directive targeting critics and groups deemed “anti-Christian,” rather than an isolated local case.

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