As the anti-ICE riots in Minneapolis escalate, the activist group Defend 612 has mobilized tens of thousands of supporters through encrypted communications networks to disrupt federal operations. An investigation into the group reveals a complex funding structure that links Defend 612 to liberal foundations, shell entities, politicians and outside organizations, some of which ultimately trace back to billionaire George Soros.
Defend 612 is a Minneapolis-based activist group that provides anti-ICE “know your rights” training, organizes and supports protests, and maintains a decentralized rapid response network designed to disrupt ICE enforcement in real time. The tactics include sending alerts via encrypted Signal chats, tracking ICE vehicles, flooding enforcement sites with observers and protesters, and blowing whistles to alert potential targets.
On its website, Defend 612 claims that since the administration launched “Operation Metro Surge” in the Twin Cities, “Somali, Latinx and immigrant communities have faced brutal harassment, intimidation, kidnapping, detention and deportation.” The group’s use of the term “kidnapping” instead of “arrest” reflects its standard activist framework.
While Defens 612 does not claim that the targets are legally present, it nevertheless seeks to protect illegal aliens from arrest and deportation and is contrary to the core function of immigration enforcement.
Defend 612 operates under fiscal sponsorship from Cooperation Cannon River (CCR), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Northfield, Minnesota (EIN: 82-0852275). Under this arrangement, CCR will handle donations, financial management and tax exemption on behalf of Defend 612, allowing the group to operate without setting up independently. Defend 612’s website directs donations to CCR, which describes its mission as supporting “social and environmental justice” initiatives.
In January 2026, watchdog groups including the Center for American Security and Advocacy (CASA) and the Functional Government Initiative filed IRS complaints alleging that Defend 612’s activities could violate CCR’s tax-exempt status by promoting interference with federal agents and potentially encouraging illegal actions.
CCR reported revenue of approximately $249,000 in its most recent IRS Form 990 filing for fiscal year 2024, reflecting significant growth from previous filings that showed 2020 net income and assets of $48,409.
CCR’s financing comes mainly from general contributions and foundation grants. Public records do not report revenue from program services, significant direct government funding, or investment income, although indirect federal and state funding appears to flow through the broader network.
In December 2023, The Solutions Project awarded $50,000 to CCR through its Fund for Frontline Power, as documented in Cause IQ records and reported by Alpha News. The Solutions Project, co-founded by actor Mark Ruffalo and led by Gloria Walton, supports climate justice organizations, often emphasizing groups led by women of color, immigrants and indigenous communities.
The Tides Foundation has provided at least $10,000 to CCR. Tides is a donor-advised fund that channels money to liberal causes and has funded similar organizations in Minnesota, including Copal MN ($50,000) and Unidos MN. George Soros is connected to CCR through Tides through his Open Society Foundations (OSF), which he has funded with more than $32 billion.
OSF contributed $25.8 million to Tides between 2020 and 2021 and more than $20 million in total, with funds focused on immigration activism and protest-related causes. Efforts supported by the Tides include the 2025 ‘No Kings’ anti-Trump protests, pro-Palestinian campus activism and Black Lives Matter initiatives. A 2025 Black Lives Matter lawsuit against Tides for more than $33 million illustrates the scale of funding flowing through this channel.
Soros-linked funding extends beyond Tides. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, heavily funded by OSF, gave Unidos MN $150,000 in 2024. Unidos MN also received $400,000 from the Ford Foundation that year, while other major foundations, including MacArthur, support the same immigration advocacy ecosystem through coordinated grants.
Public funds also enter the Defend 612 ecosystem through indirect retransmission channels. MN350, a Minnesota nonprofit that has donated to both CCR and the Defend 612 Network, received $100,000 in state tax funding through a Minnesota DNR Community Forestry and Climate Resilience grant. Although Defend 612 receives no direct government funding, its fiscal sponsor takes advantage of the resources and provides access to larger national organizations.
These include The Solutions Project, which uses private donations from figures like Leonardo DiCaprio to help groups like CCR access federal EPA funding, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which manages millions in federal contracts for the State Department and provides grantmaking infrastructure to local partners.
Additional support flows through intermediary organizations such as the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, which facilitates donations to CCR and Defend 612 projects. While ACF does not rely on direct government funding, it manages large capital inflows, including more than $26 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and substantial grants from the Ford Foundation, to support policy advocacy that impacts government spending. Together, this structure creates a funding pathway in which private wealth and federal grant initiatives move through layers of national foundations and fiscal sponsors before reaching local Minnesota efforts associated with Defend 612.
The ties between Defend 612 and prominent politicians appear largely indirect and network-based, operating through overlapping activist ecosystems rather than formal relationships. Defend 612 is described as part of a broader activist network that includes the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group closely associated with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Sunrise played a role in Ocasio-Cortez’s rise through actions such as the 2018 sit-ins at Nancy Pelosi’s office and its collaboration on the Green New Deal in 2019. Conservative media outlets, including the Daily Wire and commentator Julie Kelly, claim that Sunrise provides organizational or promotional support to Defend 612 as part of a broader anti-ICE ecosystem, although there is no evidence of direct Ocasio-Cortez involvement.
Sunrise has also received support from figures like Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo, although these celebrity ties are focused on climate activism rather than disrupting immigration enforcement.
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