Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
DHS runs an undercover operation called “Puppet Master” against anti-ICE groups and pulls union records
Homeland Security Investigations opened the operation on January 28, 2026. Court filings in the Minneapolis conspiracy case show agents attending organizing meetings.
What happened
Homeland Security Investigations formally opened Operation Puppet Master on January 28, 2026 to identify what it called an organized network of conspirators supporting violent opportunists during protests against the immigration surge. The protests it describes were against the immigration surge in Minneapolis, and the operation is the one named in filings in the federal conspiracy case.
Reports of investigation in the federal conspiracy case against 15 Minneapolis protesters show undercover agents attending organizing meetings and virtual calls from at least January 9. One was a January 31 Sunrise Movement training at the Minneapolis Public Library. Agents joined group chats and compiled attendee names from license plates.
HSI used administrative summonses to obtain years of wire-transfer records for SEIU and Communications Workers of America, and financial records of the Sunrise Movement. The records cover years of wire transfers for two unions, SEIU and the Communications Workers of America, and financial records for the Sunrise Movement.
Who benefited
HSI gets attendee names, group-chat access and years of financial records on organizations that organize protests. The material also feeds the federal conspiracy case against 15 Minneapolis protesters. The material also feeds the federal conspiracy case against 15 Minneapolis protesters, where the undercover reports of investigation were filed.
Who wanted something
HSI wanted to find the organized network it says stands behind violent opportunists at the protests. It opened the operation formally on January 28, and the reports of investigation show agents already in meetings. It opened the operation formally on January 28, and the reports of investigation show undercover agents already attending meetings and virtual calls.
Who lost out
The Sunrise Movement, SEIU and Communications Workers of America had their meetings attended or their financial records pulled. People who attended a training at the Minneapolis Public Library had their names compiled from license plates.
Why it matters
Undercover agents were in organizing meetings from at least January 9, nearly three weeks before the operation was formally opened on January 28. By then they had joined group chats, and HSI later pulled years of union wire-transfer records.
Sources U.S. District Court, D. Minn. (CourtListener) (primary)HSI Report of Investigation (Unicorn Riot discovery archive) (primary)APCBS Minnesota