FBI investigating Minnesota anti-ICE Signal group chats, Patel says

Federal authorities are investigating alleged coordinated Signal radical chats utilized by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activists successful Minneapolis to track, identify, and impede national instrumentality enforcement officers, FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday.

Patel told blimpish commentator Benny Johnson successful an interrogation that the bureau opened an probe aft autarkic writer Cam Higby posted a viral thread connected X that said radical were utilizing the encrypted messaging app to stock accusation astir agents’ movements.

"We instantly opened up that probe due to the fact that that benignant of Signal chat being coordinated with individuals, not conscionable locally successful Minnesota, but possibly adjacent astir the state — if that leads to a interruption successful the national statute oregon a usurpation of immoderate law, past we are going to apprehension people," Patel said.

"You cannot make a script that illegally entraps and puts instrumentality enforcement successful harm's way," helium added.

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FBI Director Kash Patel looks connected arsenic President Donald Trump speaks to the property aft U.S. subject actions successful Venezuela astatine Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence successful Palm Beach, Florida, connected Jan. 3, 2026. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Higby said helium "infiltrated" aggregate Signal groups implicit respective days, documenting what helium described arsenic structured efforts to place suspected national vehicles, relay licence sheet information, and dispatch members to locations wherever ICE agents were believed to beryllium operating.

The probe has drawn interest from escaped code advocates, who accidental coordination astir instrumentality enforcement enactment is not inherently amerciable and indispensable beryllium cautiously distinguished from transgression behavior.

"There are morganatic reasons to stock specified information, including enabling members of the nationalist to observe and papers instrumentality enforcement enactment and to clasp officials accountable for misconduct," Aaron Terr, the manager of nationalist advocacy astatine the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told NBC News.

A idiosyncratic holds an anti-ICE motion arsenic demonstrators rally during a wide onslaught protesting U.S. President Donald Trump’s deployment of migration enforcement officers successful Minneapolis, Minnesota, connected Jan. 23, 2026. (Tim Evans/Reuters)

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"Given this administration’s mediocre way grounds of distinguishing protected code from transgression conduct, immoderate probe similar this deserves precise adjacent scrutiny," helium said.

Patel told Johnson that portion peaceful protestation and lawful firearm ownership are constitutionally protected, coordinated efforts that spot instrumentality enforcement officers successful information oregon interruption national statutes are not.

A protester, left, and a national instrumentality enforcement serviceman reason extracurricular of a location connected Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, successful St. Paul, Minn.  (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

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The FBI manager said the bureau is examining whether the alleged coordination crossed ineligible thresholds, including the doxxing of agents oregon threats against officers and their families.

"As I've said from time one, we volition support instrumentality enforcement. We volition marque definite they person the information and information to bash their jobs," helium said. "We'll besides guarantee that civilians person the eventual extortion of the First and Second Amendment."