Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that 16 rioters in Minnesota have been arrested and charged with assaulting federal law enforcement officers amid an ongoing immigration crackdown.
Bondi, who said she was on the ground in Minneapolis, described the arrested rioters as “resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents.” The charges were filed under 18 U.S. Code § 111, a federal statute that criminalizes assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers.
MINNESOTA ARRESTS — I am on the ground in Minneapolis today. Federal agents have arrested 16 Minnesota rioters for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement — people who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents.
We expect more arrests to come.
I’ve…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 28, 2026
“We expect more arrests to come,” Bondi continued in the January 29 social media post. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law.”
The 16 defendants appeared in federal court on Wednesday. They are: Christina Rank, Abdikadir Noor, Madeline Tschida, Nitzana Flores, Helicity Borowska, Quentin Williams, William Vermie, Paul Johnson, Gillian Etherington, Joshua Doyle, Kirubele Adbebe, Margaret Sager, Ilan Wilson-Soler, Nasra Ahmed, Alice Valentine, and Matrim Charlebois.
Unsealed charging documents accuse them of various acts of aggression toward federal agents. For instance, Nasra Ahmed is charged with resisting, spitting at agents, and throwing an egg at them.
In recent days, Bondi urged state officials to scrap all “sanctuary” policies and “cooperate fully” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including granting access to local jails and honoring detention requests.
“I am confident that these simple steps will help bring back law and order to Minnesota and improve the lives of Americans,” Bondi wrote in a letter to Gov. Tim Walz on Saturday, in which she also accused state officials of “anti-law enforcement rhetoric” and “putting federal agents in danger.”
Bondi further pressed the governor to allow federal access to the state’s voter rolls and public assistance data, saying it was needed to “confirm that Minnesota’s voter registration practices comply with federal law,” CBS News reported.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon responded Sunday with a statement: “The answer to Attorney General Bondi’s request is no.”
The developments also come after Bondi brought charges earlier this month against three agitators — Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul School Board Member Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly — for their part in organizing a coordinated attack upon Sunday mass at a St. Paul church. They were accused of conspiracy to deprive people of their rights.
