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Fifth Column
Journalist Andy Ngo: I Got Inside the Signal Chats Used by Far-Left Extremists in Minnesota‐Here's What I Saw ALSO: ICE started a protester data base, 1st 16 arrested
2026-01-30
Editor-at-Large for the Post Millennial, Mr. Ngo knows his stuff.
[NgoComment] Inside the paranoia consuming the far-left encrypted chatrooms that are organizing the mass mobilization against the U.S. government.

The mass mobilization agitation now unfolding in Minneapolis and St. Paul by far-left, open-border extremists bears the hallmarks of a coordinated and professional operation designed to obstruct federal law enforcement. None of this should come as a surprise. These tactics are an evolution of methods tested during the deadly 2020 BLM—Antifa riots, which were centered largely in the Twin Cities.

In recent weeks, numerous Antifa-linked revolutionary anarchist collectives have promoted organizing guides that explicitly instruct extremists on how to carry out obstructionist campaigns. These materials consistently recommend the encrypted messaging app Signal as the primary tool for coordination. Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two militant leftist activists shot dead this month, may have been part of these groups.

What are militants saying to one another inside these chats?

Given the above, this is delicious:
Tom Homan Just Announced Major Action Against Anti-ICE Protesters in Minneapolis
Jeff Charles

Recall that President Obama awarded him a medal of some sort for his work deporting illegals, back in the day, and savour the irony.
[Townhall] Border czar Tom Homan announced on Tuesday that the government is creating a database of leftist anti-ICE protesters who impede the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

During an appearance on Fox News, Homan acknowledged that people have the right to protest the administration’s policies. "But when you cross the line...if you interfere, impede, or assault a police officer, you will be prosecuted," he said. "One thing I’m pushing for right now...we’re going to make them famous. We’re going to put their face on TV. We’re going to let their employers in their neighborhoods, in their schools, know who these people are."



Homan framed the move as a response to activists who dox ICE agents on the internet. Even before Homan made his remarks, federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis started developing an "intel collection" system that resembles such a database.

Federal officers have been "collecting personal information about protesters and agitators" in the city, according to CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
. In a memo to agents, ICE directed them to "capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protesters, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form."

Agents can enter an individual’s information into the system even if they have not arrested them. The Brennan Center for Justice noted that ICE already "can trawl the internet for people holding anti-ICE views," "track the locations where protesters and activists gather," and employ facial recognition and other tools to build "detailed dossiers on people who are not suspected of any crime."

First bunch arrested:
Feds Arrest 16 in Minneapolis Including 'Bananas and Rice' Woman
[Townhall] The federal government has arrested 16 people for allegedly assaulting or impeding federal officers, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday.

Those arrested allegedly assaulted, resisted, or impeded federal officers, the attorney general posted on social media.

One notable arrest was the “bananas and rice” woman, Nasra Ahmed. The arrests follow an immigration blitz in Minneapolis that has targeted violent illegal immigrants. Ahmed had previously claimed that she was attacked by federal agents.


…Gillian Etherington
Joshua Doyle
Kirubele Adbebe
Margaret Sager
Ilan Wilson-Soler
Nasra Ahmed
Alice Valentine
Matrim Charlebois
Related:
Tom Homan 01/29/2026 Trump warns Minneapolis mayor he's 'playing with fire' after immigration enforcement conversation
Tom Homan 01/29/2026 Census Bureau announces ‘negative net-migration,' as DHS cites 3 million illegal immigrants deported
Tom Homan 01/28/2026 Kurt Schlichter: Walz blinked; now his cops are protecting ICE agent hotels.

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