About Defend the 612

On Dec 1, the federal government initiated ‘Operation Metro Surge’ in the Twin Cities — deploying ICE and other federal enforcement agencies to Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding suburbs against the will of the people. This federal occupation soon spread to the entire state of Minnesota.

In the days since – as anyone with brown or black complexion but especially Somali, Latinx and immigrant communities, have faced relentless harassment, intimidation, and abduction, detention, and deportation – hundreds of thousands of community members across dozens of neighborhoods and cities have mounted hyper-local decentralized community defense structures and actions to protect their communities and neighbors. Through organizing their own autonomous, community-based, decentralized rapid response networks, neighbors have kept each other informed about ICE activity in real-time and have quickly come together to actively protect their family, friends, neighbors, blocks, schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, and cities.

Every day there are more and more people with the energy, willingness, courage, and commitment to be active in protecting their community from militarization, occupation, kidnappings, abductions, and violence. Every single neighborhood in Minneapolis has created support and Rapid Response groups with emerging structures and processes for getting involved. What is true across the entire Twin Cities metro is that none of us are alone, and we will keep our neighbor safe.

Defend the 612 is a grassroots volunteer attempt to help community members and neighbors get connected to one another.

This website is intended educate people on exercising their constitutionally protected rights. Defend the 612 does not promote, endorse, or condone behavior that involves violence or threats to human safety or well-being.