Our team, alongside independent journalist Cam Higby and @bitchuneedsoap on X, infiltrated Signal groups used by leftist protesters to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers' movements and disrupt their operations. These chats (often named ICE Watch or Rapid Response (RR) groups) have thousands of volunteers. This is how Alex Pretti and Renee Good located the federal agents, leading to both being fatally shot.
The groups, rooted in organizations like Monarca and Defend the 612, began in late 2025. Volunteers, calling themselves "birdwatchers," "observers," and "responders," patrol neighborhoods, document ICE vehicles and their locations, and log all data to predict movements. RR (Rapid Response) teams are expected to respond within 10 minutes of an alert, dispatching to locations to intervene with operations.
They use a custom "Plate Checker" tool to check known ICE plate numbers. If no match is found but the vehicle is confirmed to belong to ICE, the sighting is added to the database. Logs include details such as:
This information feeds into a Twin Cities license-plate sheet for analyzing ICE patterns. Signal chats, such as "Combined License Plate/Vehicle Data Collection," and county-specific groups. Other orgs like Defend the 612 offer ICE-watch guides and a "MN Community Response" handbook that we obtained, teaching tactics like traffic jams and hotel disruptions. (Handbook Document) (Plate Checker)
Another online site called "Community of Service" was discovered by @bitchuneedsoap, used as a coordination hub for vetted anti-ICE "patrollers", allowing them to schedule shifts, access live maps of suspected ICE housing locations and routes, register patrol vehicles, and apply for "dispatcher" roles. @bitchuneedsoap also got access to their backend database showing 4,700 vehicles marked as validated (2,650), suspected (1,473), or unconfirmed ICE-related. (Read more from his research.)
Legal guides shared within the groups provide 911 scripts for encounters involving "armed people at a house" and habeas templates to halt detainee transfers. Other documents we found provide information and resources for users who were doxxed or "burned." During our time in these chats, we saw members' anxiety over exposures, with discussions of malware scans, identity theft precautions, and pleas to "not get singled out, caught, or fired." (Document link)
The White House has reiterated that Americans have no right to obstruct immigration enforcement, even as Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan urged activists to "put their bodies on the line". Kash Patel, now FBI director, has launched a probe into these "extremist" Signal groups and announced that funders of the Minneapolis protests have been identified.
