A network of well-funded and tightly organized left-wing groups is deliberately pushing anti-ICE protesters into dangerous confrontations with federal agents—not to protect anyone, but to generate propaganda and rake in more power and funding. According to City Journal, one of the most active groups is Defend the 612, named after a Minneapolis zip code, and its strategy is as cynical as it is reckless.
City Journal reports that Defend the 612’s leadership uses casualties as a tool for escalation, sending volunteers into volatile situations while the organizers themselves stay safely out of harm’s way. In other words, the foot soldiers take the hits while the puppet masters stay clean. Brave leadership… from behind a desk.
The group claims it is “protecting” Minneapolis neighborhoods and frames its support for migrant murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and gang members as an “act of love and caring.” Their rhetoric portrays ICE agents as “storm-troopers” and accuses them of “kidnapping babies,” while insisting they want ICE out of their city no matter what. Emotional language, zero responsibility—classic playbook.
What they call “taking care of each other” actually means training so-called “ICE watchers” to get into increasingly risky confrontations with police and federal officers. Training materials reportedly instruct activists to interfere with enforcement, confuse officers, slow them down, and make immigration operations “uncomfortable and inefficient.” They are also taught to refuse lawful orders, guaranteeing more chaos and a higher chance of someone getting hurt.
Followers are even encouraged to physically insert themselves into law enforcement operations and get arrested to divert resources away from arresting criminal illegal aliens. That tactic, unsurprisingly, has deadly consequences. Two people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed after being placed directly in harm’s way by these strategies. But for the organizers, casualties are not a warning sign—they are a fundraising opportunity.
As previously reported, these groups are heavily funded by foreign billionaires such as George Soros and Neville Roy Singham. Researchers at the Government Accountability Institute have identified Singham as one of many funders behind radical left-wing organizations tied to domestic unrest. So while activists are risking their lives in the streets, global elites are writing checks and applauding from afar.
This is not about compassion or community safety—it’s about power, money, and manipulating outrage. The real victims are the people being pushed into confrontations and the communities suffering from unchecked criminal activity. The good news is that Americans are waking up to this game, and law enforcement continues to do its job despite the noise. With strong leadership and clear laws, order will prevail—and that’s something worth staying positive about.
