(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) FBI Director Kash Patel announced Monday that investigators have identified groups and individuals allegedly financing violent anti-ICE protests in Minnesota.
Speaking with podcast host Benny Johnson, Patel did not name the groups but emphasized that the unrest is not “happening organically” and pledged further action.
“This is not something that just happened overnight,” Patel said of the riots, adding: “We’ve got investigations ongoing into the funding of this. We’ve made actual substantial progress. I just can’t publicize it yet. But we’ve actually found groups and individuals responsible for funding it because it’s not happening organically.”
Patel said some protests have escalated into rioting, with agitators “destroying federal vehicles, ramming federal agents, literally hitting them, striking them.”
He appeared to reference the anti-ICE demonstration inside Cities Church in St. Paul, where roughly 200 individuals disrupted a Sunday service after claiming one of the church’s pastors serves as an acting ICE director in Minnesota.
Johnson noted that independent reporting suggests some anti-ICE groups have identified license plates and targeted federal agents in the state.
Asked about the legality of those actions, Patel replied, “That’s exactly what we’re investigating.”
Patel’s comments come on the heels of Republican condemnation of the ongoing crisis in Minnesota, which has been fueled by anti-ICE agitators.
FBI Director Kash Patel Announces They've IDENTIFIED Funders Of The Left-Wing Terrorist Groups Attacking ICE In Minnesota, ‘This Isn’t Organic’
“We've got also investigations ongoing into the funding of this. We've made substantial progress. We've actually found groups and… pic.twitter.com/pDV7EIInE5
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 26, 2026
