‘The people’s pardon’: Radical leftists concoct strategy to let anti-ICE agitators get off scot-free

A Minnesota activist group encouraging protests against immigration enforcement will host a training to teach attendees to let guilty criminals walk.

Defend the 612 will instruct viewers of the Feb. 23 virtual “Jury Nullification Training” on how to use false jury verdicts to fight “unjust laws and political persecution,” according to an event description on its website first reported by Alpha News. The Trump administration has charged hundreds of people with impeding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations around the country, including at Minneapolis protests during ICE’s enforcement surge in the Twin Cities that is now winding down after weeks of immigration arrests.

Defend the 612 did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

NEW: Anti-ICE group Defend the 612 is hosting an upcoming “Jury Nullification Training” for activists. https://t.co/fzzkha3ITQ pic.twitter.com/5sRvOWInVZ

— Hudson Crozier (@Hudson_Crozier) February 16, 2026

“We will learn about jury nullification — or the people’s pardon — how it’s been used, ways it can stem authoritarian overreach, and how we can use it today,” Defend the 612’s event description says. The event will explore “how to legally use conscience in the courtroom to defend communities from unjust laws.”

Jury nullification decisions cannot be overturned due to the Constitution’s Double Jeopardy clause, according to US Legal Forms. However, lawyers or judges could decide to keep potential jurors out of a trial during the jury selection process if they show signs of bias.

Defend the 612, named after its Minneapolis area code, is sponsored by the tax-exempt group Cooperation Cannon River, the DCNF previously reported. Defend the 612’s supporters have encouraged risky confrontations with law enforcement and obstructing ICE operations at protests, City Journal reported Feb. 2.

Clashes between activists and law enforcement led to two U.S. citizens dying in federal agent-involved shootings in January, sparking further calls for protests.

A conservative watchdog group asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in January to investigate CCR for sponsoring Defend the 612, accusing CCR of “illegal activity” over protesters’ tactics in Minnesota.

Defend the 612 has also announced trainings on how to monitor ICE activity in the area and “protect” potential arrestees. “Due to security and safety concerns, we do not record these trainings,” the group said in a Jan. 26 Bluesky post.

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