Anti-ICE protests/riots continue to drag on in Minnesota. Most sane people must be starting to wonder when the normal people in Minneapolis and St. Paul are going to be fed up with this and insist on a bit of law and order. But as we watch people continue to march in the streets and generally disrupt life for others, the thing that sticks out the most is those beautiful pre-printed signs. There seems to be no shortage of them. Where are they coming from, and who is paying for them? One group thinks it's time to get the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) involved.
The conservative watchdog group, The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA), is calling on the IRS to investigate a nonprofit group called Cooperation Cannon River (CCR). CCR is a registered 501(c)3 based in Minnesota, which has been financially sponsoring protesters who have reportedly advocated for obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and encouraging some of the violent protests.
This is who is funding and fueling and training anti-ICE “legal observers” in MN. COPAL received federal funds in 2021. pic.twitter.com/yMEcyhzExR
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) January 8, 2026
The focus of CASA centers on CCR's support of another group called "Defend the 612." James Fitzpatrick is the director of CASA and said of CCR:
Cooperation Cannon River is the fiscal sponsor of "Defend the 612," which engages in various social media communications encouraging interference with federal immigration enforcement operations throughout the greater Minneapolis, MN area. Defend the 612 also insinuates the use of potentially violent tactics against ICE through its advertisements.
Fitzpatrick went on to add:
Due to the many potential violations of federal law, including the obstruction of federal law enforcement officers, we believe the IRS should initiate a review of the tax-exempt status of this fiscal sponsor, and if evidence exists that they are in fact crossing into illegal activity, their status should be revoked.
CCR appears to be another in a long line of usual suspects, and their connections with Defend the 612 are glaring. CCR's main focuses are social and environmental justice, and they've been conveniently tax-exempt since March of 2020. A Defend the 612 donation page mentions CCR and that donations will “immediately” help buy vests for protesters, anti-ICE patrols around neighborhoods, and other activist activity, as this occupation continues.
Defend the 612 has also posted social media posts encouraging obstruction of ICE operations, telling supporters to “Honk and whistle at the sight of masked kidnappers, to be the first line of alert, and draw a crowd.” Defend the 612 has posted advertisements for "action training," where they claim they will teach those supporters how to “stop ICE and build a revolution.” Was Renee Good one of their "students?" Democratic Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne has also encouraged people to go to Defend the 612's website and get involved with protests.
The anti-ICE mobs are anything but organic.
— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) January 10, 2026
Dark money is bankrolling far-left groups like ICE Watch and lighting the fuse.
Americans deserve to know who’s cutting the checks!
Upon further scrutiny, more usual suspects appear to be tied to CCR. They have received money from the Tides Foundation, which is tied to left-wing billionaire George Soros, to the tune of roughly $10,000.
Since these protests, which are really riots, began, the rallying cry of those who support ICE and getting violent illegal immigrant criminals out of the country has been "follow the money." When you do that, some of the groups that surface include "Invisible Twin Cities," an offshoot of the Washington, D.C., based "The Invisible Project," whose self-stated goal is to defeat "the Trump agenda," along with Nekima Levy Armstrong, founder of the Racial Justice Network. But the biggest non-surprise might be... The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The Minnesota chapter's executive director, Jaylani Hussein, has been a participant in the anti-ICE protests.
Is it time to bring in the IRS to find out who is funding these protests? It would be a good start to unraveling the left-wing money web.
Let match the protest videos to the groups responsible for organizing these protests.
— Phoenix 🐦🔥 Rising🔥2.0 (@Phoenix2point0) January 18, 2026
Lists of anti-ICE groups 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/mrm0HLyPlb
Democrat politicians and their radical supporters will do everything they can to interfere with and threaten ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.
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