FBI Probes Minnesota Anti‑ICE Signal Chats for Possible Crimes

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Monday interview that the bureau has opened an investigation into alleged coordinated Signal group chats used by anti‑ICE activists in Minneapolis to track, identify and impede federal immigration officers. Patel said the probe began after independent journalist Cam Higby published a viral X thread claiming he had 'infiltrated' multiple Signal groups documenting structured efforts to spot suspected federal vehicles, share license plates and dispatch activists to ICE operation sites. He warned that if the coordination is found to break federal statutes—such as doxxing agents or threatening officers and their families—participants could face arrest, while emphasizing that peaceful protest and lawful gun ownership remain protected. Free‑speech advocates, including Aaron Terr of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, counter that sharing information about law‑enforcement activity can be constitutionally protected accountability work and say the administration’s poor track record distinguishing protest from crime means this kind of investigation "deserves very close scrutiny." The clash underscores how Trump‑era immigration crackdowns in Minnesota have pushed activists to encrypted apps and how federal law‑enforcement is now testing the line between protected digital organizing and criminal interference with officers.