“The Fascist Fist Is Tightening Because It Knows That It Is Losing Its Grasp on Us”

Steve Young (right) is the 2026 Green Party of Minnesota candidate for Governor.

Earlier today, Young issued a statement in response to the June 16 arrest of fifteen Twin Cities residents in connection with anti-ICE protests, specifically for “conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers” and for efforts to allegedly “violently oppose immigration law enforcement” during the surge of federal immigration officers in Minnesota from December 2025 to February 2026. Two U.S. citizens were murdered by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis during this surge. No arrests have been made in relation to these killings.

Meanwhile, Daniel Rosen, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, told reporters that the 15 anti-ICE protesters were “charged not for what they said but what they did.” However, Rosen, refused to answer specific questions connected to the alleged conspiracy, saying that evidence would be presented at a later date.

According to Minnesota Public Radio News: “Prosecutors say the 15 are members and associates of the protest group Direct Action Minnesota, which they describe as an antifa – or anti-fascist – affinity group. Antifa is an umbrella term describing any far-left-leaning militant groups and is not a singular entity. They consist of groups that resist fascists and neo-Nazis, especially at demonstrations.”

Following is Steve Young’s response to these developments.

We all wanted to believe that the worst of the Trump regime’s targeting of our community was behind us. Deep down, we felt it wasn’t true. Now we know that this battle is far from over.

On Tuesday, Federal agents arrested some of our neighbors, our friends, our comrades merely because they allegedly stepped up in the face of fascist aggression.

Do not let this bend you into submission. The fascist fist is tightening because it knows that it is losing its grasp on us. Continue to stand alongside your neighbors. Keep up your mutual aid efforts. Prepare your community for an uncertain future.

The eyes of the world are watching Minnesotans. We are in the belly of the beast. It is our duty to give this beast a terrible bellyache.

We outnumber them. Our neighborhoods are better organized than them. Stand strong, and stand proud. Do not give in. Do not give up. Check your OPSEC. Check in with your loved ones. Keep your whistles and your cameras with you wherever you go.

The road forward is rough, but we will walk it together. Together we will keep us all safe.

Fidelis Semper ad Populum,

– Steve

___________________

Notes the website of the Green Party of Minnesota:

Steve Young is an attorney with nine years of experience in corporate law who has previously served as a member of the Minneapolis Food Council. Before law school, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 12 years as an infantry unit leader. He coached high school lacrosse for seven years and has volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America, church congregations, and Veterans For Peace. He owned and operated a small business, the Bryn Mawr Market, and has been very active in the community response to Operation Metro Surge. In addition to strong protections for the natural environment, support for single-payer healthcare, and a guaranteed basic income, he supports boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel, and an end to federal immigration operations in the state.

Related Off-site Links:
“An Act of Political Repression”: Minnesota Attorneys and Activists React to Protester Charges – Ellie Roth and Matt Sepic (MPR News, June 16, 2026).
Minnesotans Protesting ICE and Local Law Enforcement Regularly Faced Criminal Charges in the Past Decade. Many Cases Get Dismissed – Andrew Hazzard (Sahan Journel, June 18, 2026).
Protests Follow After 15 Minnesotans Charged with Anti-ICE Conspiracy – Matt Sepic (MPR News, June 17, 2026).
Minneapolis Woman Charged with Anti-ICE Conspiracy Speaks Out – Feven Gerezgiher (MPR News, June 17, 2026).
Report Authors Say Feds Violated Minnesotans' Human Rights During ICE Surge – Jon Collins (MPR News, June 18, 2026).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:

RESISTANCE TO THE TRUMP REGIME’S FASCIST OCCUPATION OF MINNESOTA
• The “Power, Peril and Importance” of What’s Happening in Minnesota
• Only the Beginning
• The North Remembers
• “It’s All Lies and Propaganda”
• What This Moment Feels Like in Minnesota
• Quote of the Day – February 23, 2026
• Greg Ketter: A Valiant Minnesotan
• Dispatches from Occupied Minnesota
• More Dispatches from Occupied Minnesota
• Honoring Renée Good and the “Astonishing Surge of Courage” of Minneapolis
• Renée Good and Alex Pretty: “They Were Alive. Then They Were Not”
• Bruce Springsteen and the Streets of Minneapolis in the Winter of ’26

GREEN PARTY
• Campaigning With the Green Party
• Butch Ware on Why Third Parties Are Crucial
• Meet Some of the “People-Powered” Green Party Candidates for 2026
• “It Is Our Responsibility to Make a Third Party Viable”
• “People Really Want New Options in Politics”
• Third Parties and the Historical Record

Opening image: Protesters rally outside the Warren E. Burger federal courthouse in downtown St. Paul on June 16, 2026, in support of activists who were arrested by the FBI. (Photo: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal)