A defense motion filed on August 13, 2026 in the federal conspiracy case against 15 Minnesota organizers alleges DHS ran an "unprecedented campaign to spy on Minnesotans" through operations called Puppet Master and Whipple Shield. According to the motion, undercover Homeland Security Investigations agents posed as protesters, surveilled community meetings and infiltrated Signal chats; agents compiled dossiers from law enforcement databases and internet searches that are now available agency-wide; and investigators secretly obtained financial records of several national labor unions and social justice nonprofits with no criminal predicate. The allegations have not been adjudicated.