GAI Vice President Seamus Bruner says anti-ICE groups in Minnesota and affiliated organizations have received more than $60 million from what he describes as a network of dark-money NGOs, raising questions about whether coordinated funding and infrastructure, rather than grassroots energy, drive the activity.
Bruner revealed the claim earlier this month in remarks to Senator Josh Hawley and argued that a broader funding system, not just local protest groups, fuels recent anti-ICE activism in Minnesota.
GAI spent the past year tracing funding flows it believes connect to civil unrest. The organization previously reported that the Arabella, Tides, and Soros networks funded nationwide “No Kings” protests and said the same network supported a RICO-indicted group that prosecutors linked to domestic terror activity tied to the “Stop Cop City” riots in Atlanta.
A witness at my hearing CONFIRMED that at least $60 million in dark money is funding the Minnesota protests
Who is that money coming from?
Fourteen groups, including the Soros network pic.twitter.com/iLCV0mrSgR
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) February 12, 2026
Funding Structure
Bruner says the funding extends beyond local organizers to out-of-state groups, legal service providers, and organizations that collaborate with foreign networks connected to Mexico and China.
On-the-ground organizations host protest events, operate rapid-response networks, conduct “Know Your Rights” trainings, and collaborate with local partners.
Among those cited:
Indivisible, which Bruner says received more than $7 million in dark-money funding, hosts weekly protest events in Minneapolis and provides “EYES ON ICE” training sessions that it says have reached more than 200,000 participants.
Bruner also says Sunrise Movement received more than $8 million and organized midnight disruption campaigns targeting Minnesota hotels while publishing hotel lists, protest toolkits, and an ICE vehicle database.
TakeAction Minnesota, Gender Justice, CTUL, COPAL MN, Unite Here!, SEIU, Unidos MN, and OutFront Minnesota co-organized a Minneapolis march alongside groups described as tied to CCP-linked entities. Bruner says those organizations received roughly $20 million in dark-money funding.
Organizers identified the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) as a co-organizer of the march and described its ties to Neville Roy Singham’s People’s Forum. The description characterizes Singham as a Marxist living in China who sold his company to a CCP-linked firm.
CLUES, CAIR Minnesota, MN350, Voices for Racial Justice, and United Renters for Justice also participate in protests and anti-ICE trainings.
Some organizations maintain connections to foreign entities. CAIR co-hosted an anti-ICE rally outside a Target with a group founded by Nekima Levy Armstrong, whom the description says authorities arrested for leading a church riot in Minnesota.
Unidos MN attended a conference at the invitation of the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul focused on U.S. DACA policy.
Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES) collaborated extensively with the St. Paul Mexican Consulate and shares a building with the consulate.
Together, these on-the-ground organizations received more than $40 million from the network over five years.
Training Network
States at the Core (STAC) serves as a central organizing hub.
According to its website, STAC operates as a fiscally sponsored project of Arabella’s Hopewell Fund and provides “ICE-Watch” trainings alongside Defend the 612 and Protect RP. Minnesota-based groups widely share those trainings.
Renee Good, the woman shot by law enforcement after blocking federal agents with her car, belonged to a group that participated in STAC trainings. Her spouse participates in a “Rapid Response” chat organized by Defend the 612.
STAC does not record trainings due to security concerns. A Protect RP post encouraged direct confrontation with ICE and said participants should only engage in “blocking cars” if properly trained.
Groups that attended STAC trainings posted related content on social media. MN ICE Watch, identified as Good’s group, shared guidance promoting assault and posted an image of a vandalized federal vehicle bearing anti-official graffiti.
Other training participants promote “de-arrest” tactics designed to help protesters interfere with arrests.
STAC operates as a fiscal project rather than a standalone nonprofit, so its total funding remains unclear. A LinkedIn post by the founder says NEO Philanthropy also serves as a fiscal sponsor.
Form 990 filings from 2024 show NEO Philanthropy received more than $500,000 from other dark-money groups — including Freedom Together Foundation, Democracy Fund Inc., and Unbound Philanthropy — to support STAC operations.
Legal Support Network
National legal organizations provide support during encounters with law enforcement.
The ACLU has filed lawsuits aimed at limiting federal immigration enforcement, and its Minnesota affiliate provides legal guidance for “ICE observers,” protesters, and migrants through “Know Your Rights” materials.
Democracy Forward pursues legal challenges to federal enforcement, encourages support for on-the-ground efforts in Minnesota, and provides guidance aimed at “non-citizen protesters.”
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) provides “Know Your Rights” guidance and legal observer trainings in Minnesota. Reports cite past controversy involving the group, including a staff member charged during the Stop Cop City unrest and footage showing individuals wearing green hats among rioters at a police training facility. A Protect RP post described “legal experts in green hats” present during clashes with police in Minnesota.
Legal service providers operating in Minnesota received more than $30 million from dark-money groups.
This funding, training, and legal ecosystem forms a layered system in which national nonprofit networks supply strategy, resources, and legal protection while local groups carry out on-the-ground activity.
Often with nefarious intent.
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