Treasure Thoreson was still in her pajamas, drinking coffee on her Minneapolis couch, when federal agents arrived at her door this June.
A special education teacher, she was arrested on charges of conspiring to impede federal agents — one of 15 people indicted in connection with blockades outside a Minneapolis building that served as ICE headquarters during the winter's immigration enforcement surge, but her case is part of a broader pattern, reported NPR.
A review of federal court records found that since President Donald Trump returned to office, the Justice Department has charged more than three dozen people in at least 10 cases under a rarely used 19th-Century statute, conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, which carries up to six years in prison.
Nearly 50 additional people have been indicted on related conspiracy charges in Michigan, Texas and Minnesota. Before this year, the statute's most recent major use was against Jan. 6 defendants — cases that were dropped or pardoned once Trump returned to office.
Legal experts say the pattern raises concerns about prosecutorial overreach. Aaron Terr of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression says some defendants aren't accused of violence or property damage themselves, only association with others who allegedly were.
"The concern there is that the government may be casting too wide a net," he said, warning that people may be swept up "based on their political beliefs" rather than personal conduct.
In Spokane, Washington, nine protesters were indicted after blocking a van transporting detainees – three went to trial and were convicted, despite not being personally accused of property damage.
The acting U.S. attorney who initially reviewed the case resigned rather than sign the indictment, later calling the prosecution a dusting-off of "a Civil War-era law" to punish protesters. In Chicago, two organizers were indicted after briefly making contact with a federal vehicle during a demonstration — charges later dismissed over alleged prosecutorial misconduct, though not before rattling those involved.
The Justice Department maintains its priorities are appropriate, stating that "violence against law enforcement or impeding officers performing their duties" should not be confused with peaceful protest.
But Katie Schwartzmann of Protect Democracy sees a different purpose behind the prosecutions. "It's important to see these indictments and the use of this law for what it is, which is an attempt to scare Americans," she said — while urging that Americans "should not be afraid to organize peaceful resistance."