Anti‑ICE Networks Train Activists in Military‑Style Surveillance as FBI Investigates
Fox News reports that the FBI, under Director Kash Patel, is investigating "ICE Watch" activists who use encrypted Signal chats to track and sometimes block federal immigration operations, as a nationwide web of at least 200 anti‑ICE groups builds what amounts to a civilian intelligence network. In a recent Zoom training, Jill Garvey of the Hopewell Fund‑backed group States at the Core taught thousands of "rapid responders" to use the military SALUTE reporting format — Size, Activity, Location, Uniform, Time and Equipment — to systematically log federal agents’ movements and feed that data into shared databases. Separate events at New York’s People’s Forum and in Seattle promoted adopting street corners, sharing Marxist urban‑guerrilla manuals and running 37+ Signal channels to monitor patrol patterns, license plates, uniforms and behaviors of ICE and Border Patrol personnel, data Fox says is now warehoused in at least 13 regionally coordinated systems. The network, concentrated in Democratic‑run cities, treats agents as "enemies" and civilians as HUMINT "collectors," raising security concerns among former special‑operations officers and prompting federal scrutiny at a moment when Trump‑era mass‑deportation raids and fatal shootings in Minneapolis have already polarized the public. Supporters online portray the activity as community self‑defense and cop‑watching; critics describe it as an insurgent‑style effort to blind and harass federal law enforcement.
📌 Key Facts
- FBI Director Kash Patel has publicly acknowledged an investigation into anti‑ICE activists’ use of encrypted Signal chats to track federal immigration enforcement
- States at the Core co‑founder Jill Garvey says she has trained about 40,000 'rapid responders' in the SALUTE military intelligence reporting method over the past year
- Fox reports at least 200 anti‑ICE organizations feeding data into 13 databases coordinated through 18 hubs, logging items such as license plates, timestamps, locations and uniform details of federal agents
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
"A conservative City Journal commentary critiques recent reporting about anti‑ICE protests—arguing the movement is less spontaneous and more an organized, revolutionary network using military‑style surveillance and coordinated tactics that threaten public safety and justify law‑enforcement scrutiny; it is a critical take on the 'Anti‑ICE Networks Train Activists…' reporting."
📰 Source Timeline (1)
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