npr Early one morning this June, Treasure Thoreson was drinking coffee on her couch in Minneapolis when she heard a knock at the front door.⁠ ⁠ "I go and I see a woman standing there in office clothes, but with a Homeland Security vest over the top. And I see six more agents standing in my front yard," Thoreson told NPR. "She said, 'We have a warrant for your arrest, for conspiracy.'"⁠ ⁠ Thoreson, a special education teacher, was still in her pajamas. The agent let her change clothes and hug her partner goodbye before taking her into custody.⁠ ⁠ The government charged Thoreson and 14 others with engaging in a conspiracy to impede federal agents — a conspiracy it says culminated in the use of blockades outside the Whipple Federal Building, which served as ICE's headquarters during the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota this past winter.⁠ ⁠ The government cited meetings and conversations on the encrypted messaging app Signal as evidence. At the advice of her lawyer, Thoreson declined to comment on the specifics of the indictment.⁠ ⁠ The charges against Thoreson are part of an escalating trend. NPR reviewed court records from the last five years to examine how the federal government is wielding one specific charge: conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, which can carry a sentence of up to six years in federal prison.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio for the story.⁠ ⁠ Photo: @jaida.greyeagle • Jaida Grey Eagle for NPR View all 1,000 comments