Indigenous Woman Charged in Federal Court for Allegedly Punching Law Enforcement Officer, Remains in Custody
By Darren Thompson
Minneapolis—Today, an Indigenous woman has been charged in federal court for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers who were conducting a search warrant in Minneapolis last week. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota, Isabel Lopez, 27, was charged by complaint with multiple federal charges including Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding Officers, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1), following a heavily militarized search operation conducted on June 3 at a popular Lake Street restaurant.
Lopez, who sources confirm is active with the Indigenous Protectors Movement (IPM)—a grassroots organization advocating for Indigenous sovereignty, safety, and justice—was arrested yesterday after a viral video circulated of her being violently slammed to the ground by federal agents. The video prompted outrage among community members and raised concerns about excessive force, the over-policing of communities of color, and the targeting of Indigenous women.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, Lopez is accused of punching, kicking, and shoving federal agents during the search, and later allegedly striking an FBI agent in the head during her June 9 arrest. A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Lopez, including one count of Obstruction of Law Enforcement During Civil Disorder under 18 U.S.C. § 231(a)(3).
“As laid out in the complaint, federal agents were executing federal search warrants signed by a federal judge,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson in a statement on June 10. “The search warrants were part of a long-term drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking investigation involving a transnational criminal organization. The defendant physically attacked law enforcement agents in the course of their duties, even as the crowd tried to hold her back. When the defendant was arrested, she doubled-down, punching an FBI agent in the head.”
However, many Minneapolis residents say the unannounced operation—carried out during broad daylight with heavily armed agents—triggered panic in a community with longstanding fears of immigration raids and police violence. Witnesses say dozens of community members quickly gathered at Taqueria y Birreria Las Cuatro Milpas, the restaurant surrounded by agents, believing the operation to be an immigration enforcement action.
Lopez was arrested yesterday by FBI agents after giving an interview with Georgia Fort, an award-winning journalist and a 2025 Bush Fellow, about posting a video on Instagram of her getting slammed to the ground by law enforcement officers on June 3.
Federal officials claim the search warrant was part of a long-term, multi-agency investigation into a transnational criminal network allegedly involved in narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, and money laundering. Law enforcement agencies involved in the June 3 operation included the FBI, ATF, ICE, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said on June 4 that agents served eight search warrants at locations across the Twin Cities metro area as part of a large narcotics, human trafficking and money laundering investigation. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt was reported on Tuesday as saying that the Department of Homeland Security was leading the investigation and had cooperation with ten other agencies, including ICE and local law enforcement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that while some people protested legally, Lopez “obstructed, impeded, and assaulted federal agents and officers, in violation of federal law. She punched, kicked, and shoved agents and officers.”
Lopez made her initial appearance in U.S. District Court today, before Magistrate Judge John F. Docherty, and will remain in custody pending a detention hearing. A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment today against defendant Lopez and charged her with three counts of Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding Officers, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1)—two counts related to the assaults Lopez allegedly committed during the June 3rd search warrant execution and one count related to Lopez’ alleged punching of an FBI agent at the time of her arrest on June 9.
The grand jury also charged Lopez with one count of Obstruction of Law Enforcement During Civil Disorder, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 231(a)(3). She remains in custody at the Sherburne County Jail and is listed as 5’2” and 140 pounds.
Georgia Fort also shared information regarding Lopez’s arrest and said in a social media post, “In the meantime, if you attended last week’s protest in South Minneapolis, you’re advised to seek legal advice and check if you have a warrant or not.”
Community organizations and legal advocates are calling for her release and urging the public to pay close attention to the unfolding legal case, which they say has broad implications for protest rights and racial justice in the Twin Cities.
“The attacks on our communities—and Trump’s mass deportation policy—are ill-conceived and dangerous,” said Chase Iron Eyes of the Lakota People’s Law Project. “This isn’t the first instance, nor will it be the last, of harassment of Indigenous People at the hands of law enforcement officers as our rights and freedoms are eroded. This is what happens when fear is allowed to rule the day, and when the rule of law is ignored by the executive branch.”
The case has sparked renewed demands for transparency in federal investigations, oversight on the use of force during warrant executions, and the protection of First Amendment rights. Advocates have also emphasized the need to address the criminalization of Indigenous resistance, particularly when Indigenous women are at the forefront of community defense.
This is a developing story.
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Darren Thompson is the Managing Editor for the Last Real Indians Native News Desk and Director of Media Relations for the Sacred Defense Fund, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He covers tribal sovereignty, environment and social justice, and Indigenous music, arts, and film. He can reached at darren@sacreddefense.org.
Rachel Thunder also contributed to this report from Minneapolis.