Feds decline to say whether agents were injured as part of anti-ICE conspiracy

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Only two of the 15 Minnesotans indicted for an alleged anit-ICE conspiracy to impede or injure federal immigration officers were charged with actually assaulting or impeding an agent, according to federal court records. 

Feds won’t elaborate on whether agents were injured in connection to alleged conspiracy

During a press conference Tuesday, federal officials described the conspiracy as "coordinated violence targeting federal law enforcement officers and facilities" but refused to say if any federal officers were injured. 

"I can’t elaborate on that today, and I don’t believe I used the word attacks, but if I did, I stand by it," said U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen when questioned by the FOX 9 Investigators about officer injuries. 

One assault charge stems from an incident where an agent’s notes were knocked out of his hand. Another person is accused of brake checking and sideswiping an agent’s vehicle. 

"We have video evidence, we have eyewitness testimony, and all of that evidence will roll out in the normal course of the prosecution," Rosen said. 

By the numbers:

At the press conference, Rosen was asked repeatedly about other assault cases brought by his office during the immigration operation that were subsequently dismissed.

The FOX 9 Investigators tracked nearly 60 other assault cases in Minnesota where people were accused of assaulting or impeding a federal officer during Operation Metro Surge. 

More than half of those cases have since been dropped, with some attorneys making accusations of "outrageous government conduct" and that it lacked "credible evidence." 

Dig deeper:

 Assault cases were also regularly dismissed or declined to charge during the immigration enforcement surge in Chicago last fall. 

"We have a number of demonstrably false claims where judges have found that Homeland Security agents were making misrepresentations about assaults," said University of St. Thomas law professor Rachel Moran.

The other side:

U.S. Attorney Rosen said Tuesday that he doesn’t think any cases have failed in any way and insisted the evidence in these new conspiracy charges "will prove it all out." 

Rosen declined to make public any new evidence tied to the new assault charges.