A newly surfaced X thread is raising serious questions about foreign involvement in efforts to obstruct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota, following recent leaks from activist Signal chat groups coordinating against federal immigration enforcement.
The thread, posted January 26, 2026, by data analyst and researcher @DataRepublican, builds on files previously exposed by journalist Cam Higby, who infiltrated several encrypted Signal chats used by activists opposed to ICE’s “Operation Metro Surge” in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. According to the thread, one leaked “resources” document shared within these chats directed supporters to a website called StandWithMinnesota.com, which funneled donors toward a now-deleted crowdfunding campaign hosted on Chuffed.org.
The fundraising effort, titled “Support frontline organizers demanding justice and shutting down ICE in Minnesota,” reportedly raised more than $429,000 before being removed shortly after the leaks became public. The campaign claimed to support legal observers, “community defense,” rapid response networks, and protest supplies in the aftermath of the January 7, 2026, ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good—an incident that activists have used as a rallying point for escalated resistance to immigration enforcement.
StandWithMinnesota.com was reportedly connected to Tending the Soil, a Minnesota-based organization described as “BIPOC-led” and focused on worker and tenant activism. Conservative outlets have previously reported on Tending the Soil’s alleged involvement in anti-ICE organizing and coordination with progressive political networks, including Democratic-aligned staffers and local officials.
What has drawn particular scrutiny, however, is donor data compiled and shared by @DataRepublican. Using a downloadable spreadsheet hosted via Proton Drive, the researcher cataloged more than 9,000 individual donations to the Chuffed campaign. While the author carefully used hedging language for unverified identity matches, the data allegedly links donors to known activists, political figures, and organizations. A more detailed version of this dataset, according to the thread, has been shared with authorities.
The thread emphasizes that the very first donation to the campaign came from Jonny Sopotiuk, a Canada-based organizer who works with Chuffed.org itself and serves as a co-director of the Union Cooperative Initiative in British Columbia. Sopotiuk reportedly specializes in fundraising for progressive political causes. Screenshots shared in the thread show Sopotiuk’s public profile identifying his role with Chuffed, the same platform hosting the anti-ICE fundraiser.
While there is no evidence that Sopotiuk personally participated in the Signal chats or directed on-the-ground activities, critics argue that the fundraising infrastructure itself represents indirect foreign assistance to a domestic network accused of tracking ICE agents, doxxing officers, and interfering with lawful deportations.
Conservative commentators have framed these revelations as potentially implicating federal laws related to foreign interference or even seditious conspiracy, given the alleged coordination to obstruct lawful government operations. Others note that the rapid removal of the fundraising campaign following public exposure suggests awareness of legal or political vulnerability.
As of now, no law enforcement agency has publicly confirmed an investigation into foreign involvement tied to these activities. Still, the disclosures add to growing concerns about secretive activist networks, the use of encrypted platforms to evade oversight, and the role of foreign money in fueling domestic unrest.
For Christians and conservatives, the issue cuts deeper than politics alone. Scripture affirms the God-ordained role of civil authority to punish wrongdoing and preserve order (Romans 13). Organized efforts—especially those aided by foreign actors—to undermine lawful governance and border enforcement raise serious moral and civic concerns about truth, accountability, and the rule of law.
