Is george soros funding any organizations active in the anti ice activism in minnesota

Checked on January 20, 2026
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Executive summary

The reporting collected shows that national progressive funders linked to George Soros — principally the Open Society Foundations and organizations that have received its grants or pass-through money — have funded national and some state-level groups that are active in the anti‑ICE mobilization in Minnesota, but the evidence in the sources is a mix of direct grant records, pass‑through donations, and claims from partisan outlets rather than a single clear line tracing Soros cash directly to frontline Minneapolis organizers [1] [2] [3] [4]. Conservative outlets interpret those grant ties as proof of Soros “funding the protests” and present that as a central explanation for the resistance; mainstream outlets covering the Minneapolis unrest do not emphasize or document a direct Soros-to-local-organizer payment stream [5] [6] [7].

1. National grants to big progressive networks that appear in local organizing ecosystems

Multiple reports trace sizable grants from Open Society–linked entities to national networks and organizations that have state or local chapters active in Minnesota protest work: for example, reporting cites roughly $2 million in Open Society grants to Sunrise Movement since 2019 and multi‑million dollar totals to Indivisible’s national efforts, which has an active Twin Cities chapter [1] [2] [8]. Those national grants are factual as reported by the investigative outlets cited, and they establish that Open Society funds organizations that operate at scale and supply training, messaging, and infrastructure used by local activists [1] [2].

2. Local and state groups with reported ties to Soros‑funded entities

Several sources identify Minnesota organizations engaged in anti‑ICE activity — including Indivisible Twin Cities, Unidos MN, Defend the 612, and others — and report that those groups have received money either directly from foundations that in turn have been funded by Open Society or via political arms and pass‑through vehicles [2] [3] [9] [4]. For instance, reporting claims Unidos MN’s former political arm received roughly $100,000 from a vehicle primarily funded by Soros, and other pieces point to broader funding patterns linking Open Society and Tides to groups in the ecosystem [3] [4].

3. How “funding” is characterized differs by source and matters to the claim

Conservative outlets present the pattern as a direct causative story — “Soros funds the protests” — and frequently emphasize dollar amounts and purported coordination as evidence [5] [6] [8] [10]. Other outlets, including mainstream reporting of the Minneapolis events, focus on the on‑the‑ground clashes, legal rulings, and political fallout without documenting a direct Soros‑to‑doorstep payment to local organizers [7] [11]. The distinction between direct grants to local groups, national grants to umbrella organizations, and pass‑through funding is central: many claims rely on linking national grant records to local activism rather than citing local bank receipts in the public record [1] [2] [4].

4. What the sources do and do not prove

The collection of reporting establishes that Open Society Foundations and affiliated channels have funded national progressive groups and some political vehicles connected to organizations whose local arms or allied groups are active in Minnesota protests; that is documented in grant and IRS‑reporting summaries cited by multiple outlets [1] [2] [4]. What the sources do not uniformly establish is a single, traceable transactional pathway from George Soros personally into the specific frontline organizing or tactical activities (hotel tracking, “noise demonstrations,” legal observer rosters) being used in Minneapolis; several pieces infer influence through networks rather than presenting bank‑level evidence of direct operational funding to the exact local actors involved [5] [12] [9].

5. Conclusion: nuanced affirmative but not definitive

In sum, reporting supports the conclusion that organizations that have received funding from Open Society–affiliated entities — which are funded by George Soros’s philanthropic network — are part of the web of groups involved in Minnesota’s anti‑ICE activism, and conservative outlets treat that as direct proof of Soros funding the protests [1] [2] [3] [5]. At the same time, mainstream coverage of the Minneapolis unrest does not document a direct, one‑to‑one Soros payment to the frontline organizers, and the sources available stop short of incontrovertible financial tracing to specific local protest operations [7] [11] [4]. The most accurate characterization supported by the reporting is: yes, Soros‑funded philanthropic networks have funded national and some state‑level groups that are active in the Minnesota anti‑ICE ecosystem, but the evidence in these sources is a mix of direct grants, pass‑throughs, and interpretive claims rather than a single definitive transaction record to local tactical organizers [1] [2] [4].

Want to dive deeper?
Which specific grants from Open Society Foundations list Indivisible or Sunrise as recipients and what were the grant purposes?
Have Minnesota local groups (Unidos MN, Defend the 612, Indivisible Twin Cities) published their grant or donor reports showing receipts from Open Society–affiliated entities?
How do pass‑through foundations (Tides, Sixteen Thirty Fund) operate and how often do they route grants to local activist groups?