Feds Tracked Bank Records, License Plates Of Everyday Minnesotans: Report

ST. PAUL, MN — Federal investigators pulled years of financial records from Minnesota labor unions, sent undercover agents into private meetings and Signal chats, and traced license plates to build files on activists, according to a New York Times investigation published this week.

None of the individuals or groups swept into the probe, including the Sunrise Movement, the Communications Workers of America and the Service Employees International Union, have been charged with a crime.

The inquiry followed the fatal shooting of government nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in January. Undercover agents attended meetings at churches, libraries and parks across the Twin Cities, logging attendees' names and license plate numbers, the Times reported.

In one case, agents traced a license plate from a church meeting to identify and compile files on attendees who had done nothing more than show up.

Attorney Kevin Riach, who filed the motion that revealed the tactics, said the investigation went far beyond any real safety threat and found no evidence to support a conspiracy claim.

Minnesota DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom said the administration turned federal power against the state's labor movement instead of holding agents accountable for the shooting that sparked the unrest.

Read the full New York Times report here.