Minneapolis, MN — At The Square Gallery nestled inside George Floyd Square on September 14, 2025, a gathering of community members, anti-ICE activists, and leaders rallied behind Isabel Lopez against her legal case. She is facing four felony charges incurred while protesting what was thought to be an ICE raid on Lake Street in Minneapolis back in early June, which turned out to be tied to an FBI methamphetamine investigation.

Activists are calling the federal charges “trumped up” and “ridiculous” due to the ultimatum US Attorney Joseph Thompson and prosecutors are giving Lopez: the plea deal being eight to 14 months in prison or 46 to 57 months if Lopez goes to trial, according to her attorney.

Lopez faces felony charges, including three counts of obstructing, impeding, or assaulting a federal officer, and one charge of impeding or obstructing a federal officer during a civil disorder.

The September gathering and panel discussion focused on “immigration and repression,” with an art build emphasizing why Lopez’s charges should be dropped. A concert was held afterwards, featuring The Amores, Downtown Jada Brown, and Tufawon.

On June 3, 2025, the general tension in the country was high due to immigration sweeps and raids, and around 200 people responded to reports of a raid on Bloomington and Lake Street in South Minneapolis, where armed federal agents with face coverings, no visible names or identification numbers, descended on Taqueria y Birrieria las Cuatro Milpas, a Mexican restaurant.

ICE-Led ‘Homeland Security Task Force’ Raid Draws Large Mobilization in Minneapolis [June 2025]

It was later publicly stated that federal agencies had rolled out a newly minted “Homeland Security Task Force” to search eight locations around the metro area as part of a criminal investigation into alleged cartel activity. Lopez’s arrest circumstances were lumped in with the alleged giant meth bust in the federal complaint and media outlets.

Plainclothes Feds Arrest Poet After Interview With Press, Unseal Conflated Complaint [June 2025]

Lopez’s lawyer, Jordan Kushner, says that the charges are bogus and are intended to intimidate: “She’s facing these bogus federal charges, which are obviously just designed to intimidate her and intimidate everyone else from resisting this fascist regime that’s in place.”

Kushner explained one of the charges in more detail at the panel: “She was indicted on four charges, they’re all felony charges. The obstruction statute by itself is just a misdemeanor, but if there’s physical contact, it becomes a felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison.”

Marcia Howard, Vice President of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59, has observed Lopez within the activist community for a while: “This person has always been on these streets doing the right thing, fighting the good fight. And so George Floyd Square is home to Isa.”

Miguel Hernandez, owner of Lito’s Burritos, was a panelist speaker at the September 14 event and says he “wouldn’t have done any different” on June 3 compared to Lopez.

Hernandez said, “You know, we should be meeting ICE and federal forces occupying our neighborhoods, exactly how we did on June 3rd and this is a massive battle because whatever happens with this case will happen again and again and again, and it’ll get worse and worse for us.”

At the panel discussion, Lopez reflected on the feeling of resilience and persistence in going through this ordeal, coming through the other side transformed, while also figuring out how to bring the community with her.

Ricardo Levins Morales, a prominent artist and organizer in Minneapolis, argues that defending people and resisting is a good thing, “When we defend our own, it’s not to convince the state, nah, we weren’t doing anything. It’s to declare that actually resistance is a good thing in our universe. It’s not criminal in our universe, it’s actually model behavior.”

The pre-trial hearing scheduled for September 29, 2025, has been postponed. Activists say it is likely that federal agencies are trying to disrupt public support for Isa. The rally will be held as planned on September 29 at the Minneapolis federal courthouse at 9 AM; the trial hearing is scheduled for November 24, 2025.

Follow us on X (aka Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, BlueSky and Patreon.

Síguenos en Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, y Patreon.