Defend Minnesotans' Right to Protest — Drop the Charges Against Direct Action Minnesota

Speak out against the federal prosecution of Erik Davis, Natasha Rakotz, and the 13 other Minnesotans indicted for organizing against ICE. This is not law enforcement — it's the Republican-led Justice Department using the courts to punish people for exercising their First Amendment rights. Davis is a 53-year-old Buddhist studies professor at Macalester College. The federal indictment against him doesn't allege a single violent act. He faces up to six years in prison for attending meetings, sharing protest information on Signal, and encouraging people to show up at a federal building. That's organizing. That's constitutionally protected speech and assembly. The government's own press conference tied this prosecution directly to Trump's executive order designating "antifa" a domestic terrorist organization — a political label, not a legal standard. Rakotz faces up to 26 years. State prosecutors initially cited her for a minor misdemeanor before federal prosecutors swooped in with conspiracy charges. The federal indictment doesn't even name a victim or specify injuries. A similar case in Chicago collapsed last month. These prosecutions are designed to make organizing so costly — in careers, relationships, sleep, and legal fees — that people stop. Minnesota deserves a representative who will call this what it is and demand accountability from the Justice Department.