Deputy AG Suggests Organized Group Is Behind Minneapolis Protests

Todd Blanche says in a new interview that it’s not a ‘coincidence that these massive numbers of protesters and rioters’ showed up at the same time.

Federal agents block off the scene of a shooting as crowds gather in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday suggested that an organized group is behind the protests in Minnesota following the Trump administration’s launch of its operation targeting fraud in the state.

Last month, two protesters were shot and killed during separate incidents by federal agents amid demonstrations over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol operations in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the state.