On the list of recent attacks on free speech and the right to protest is the June 16, 2026, indictment by a federal grand jury of 15 people on felony charges related to protests against Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. There, between December 2025 and February 2026, hundreds of thousands of people confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) thugs in massive, sustained protest actions in defense of their immigrant neighbors, politically defeating the surge. In addition, tens of thousands of people were trained as rapid responders to help protect immigrants’ rights.The Minnesota 15 — as the defendants named in the indictment are now known — are fighting back, not just on the legal front but by building solidarity with their cause. Meetings in Chicago, Illinois, and Madison, Wisconsin — along with a rally in the Twin Cities — are part of that effort.