Federal agents sent to Minneapolis were instructed to gather identifying information on anti-ICE activists using a standardized “intel collection non-arrests” form. Critics argue that this directive from Kristi Noem risks recording peaceful protests in federal files.
The communications asked agents to “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form,” according to The New Republic, which cited the CNN materials.
The report linked this instruction to the aftermath of the January 24 killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Veterans Affairs nurse who died after a confrontation with Border Patrol agents during protests in Minneapolis. A source told CNN that federal agents knew Pretti’s identity, but it was unclear if his information was entered into the non-arrest collection system before his death, as reported by The New Republic.
Details of the memo surfaced after another confrontation in Minnesota, where an ICE agent warned a woman filming federal operations that her information would be entered into a “database” and that she would be labeled a “domestic terrorist,” according to a Yahoo News report that referenced video of the incident.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied that the department was creating a database of “domestic terrorists.” She described the information gathering as “standard protocol” meant to support investigations and prosecutions involving what she called “violent agitators,” based on The New Republic’s account of CNN reporting.
Civil liberties advocates have long warned that collecting names, license plates, images, and hotel details related to protests can discourage lawful speech and assembly, especially when done outside an arrest context. The New Republic reported that volunteer ICE monitors in multiple states have described intimidating home visits by federal agents. These developments suggest that the information collection is already being used to identify and pressure those who track enforcement activity.
The instructions in Minneapolis arose during a time of intense political pressure on the Department of Homeland Security and federal immigration agencies following the deaths of two civilians in Minnesota this month, including Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, who was killed in a different shooting involving federal immigration officers earlier in January. A Reuters review of several incidents noted that video and other evidence have sometimes conflicted with early public statements by immigration officials after violent encounters. This has fueled calls for clearer explanations and external review.
The DHS directive described by The New Republic did not clearly distinguish between people accused of crimes and individuals at demonstrations who were not arrested. The “non-arrests” form, as described in the report, aimed to standardize the collection of identifying details even without any enforcement action.
McLaughlin described the practice as a tool to build cases against individuals accused of violence, but the broad scope of the communications, including directions to collect hotel and “general information” about protesters, raised questions about what criteria would lead to entry in the consolidated form and how long such information would be kept.
Neither DHS nor ICE has publicly released the full communications, and federal officials have not provided information about safeguards, access controls, or any review process related to the collection.
