Meet the Defendants

Nat Kim (she/they) is an educator with 5 years of service at UMN, a shop manager, an artist, and a beloved community member in South Minneapolis. Prior to Metro Surge, Nat helmed the Southside Battletrain as president, built and installed numerous public artworks across the Twin Cities, and distributed supplies to homeless encampments. Nat is also a founding member of Western North Carolina Sculpture Center and was a build lead for Amorphic Robot Works in Brooklyn, NY and Bisbee, AZ.

Nat's interests are ritual and handcraft as cultural artifact, theories of social formations grounded in collective care, helping people make things, cooking, and spending time with her girlfriend.

Isaac Sant is a healthcare worker, an activist, and a longtime trade unionist. Originally from Baltimore, MD, he has worked in the labor movement organizing nursing home workers, warehouse workers, and cafeteria workers. He has also participated in the movement against police brutality, antifascist organizing, and the global justice movement. Before moving to Minnesota, he was a defendant in the J20 case in 2017. He likes the smell of summer rain and long walks on the beach.

Gabriel Van de Water is an artist working in various mediums, incorporating paper mache, casting, welding, and painting into his work. Gabe helped establish cop watch groups across Minneapolis during the 2020 uprising and has helped many community organizing efforts since. Gabe loves to throw a party, and has been part of the organizing committee for People's Pride for three years running.

Treasure Thoreson is a special education teacher, community organizer, and leader in her union, the Minneapolis Federation of Educators. Since moving to Minneapolis fifteen years ago, Treasure has been active in the local community, from organizing against police violence to fighting for safe conditions for teachers and students during the height of COVID-19. In 2022, she led fellow teachers on the picket line as a strike captain in MFE's first strike in 50 years. In her spare time, Treasure helps to organize CONvergence, an annual convention to celebrate science fiction and fantasy media. Treasure has refused to be silenced by her arrest, continuing to speak at protests and events to make clear that attacks by the federal government will not stop us from keeping each other safe.

Natasha is an in home care provider for the elderly and people with disabilities. She loves Star Trek and collects rocks and frog memorabilia. 

Kyle is a father, feminist and a social democrat who loves to be out on his motorcycle and spend as much time around his rescued pitbulls and in nature as he can. For 20 years Kyle has been involved in activism and grass roots campaigns for social justice and environmental issues. He is a carpenter by trade and former union member turned small business owner, native to the west metro.

Erik Davis is a professor of Religious Studies at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and a longtime labor, anti-racist, and community organizer in the Twin Cities. He has been a member of the Teamsters, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and helped found Macalester’s AAUP chapter in 2019. His organizing has included anti-racist and anti-fascist work, the Black Lives Matter movement, organizing against police violence, and Palestine solidarity. Across these movements, his work has emphasized democratic, rank-and-file organizing, solidarity across communities, and building durable collective power. 

Emmett Doyle is a carpenter, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and a prominent labor and community organizer. Born and raised in central Minnesota, Emmett is a graduate of Saint John's University with a bachelor's in Environmental Studies. Emmett has been politically active since his teens, advocating against war and bigotry, supporting the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements, fighting for environmental justice, and organizing in the workplace.  His organizing started with the Industrial Workers of the World and then as a union carpenter. He has supported prisoner solidarity and legal defense for political prisoners around the world. His musical projects have included the Wooden Shoe Ramblers, the Last Words, the Stepping Razors, and several other bands as well as substantial solo work. His song "Hold Fast" won the Labor Notes Strike Song of the Year in 2025. During Metro Surge, his protest songs became widely known in the Twin Cities, particularly a comedic tune called "Dick Blizzard" about the protest action "Operation Dildo Blitz". Emmett strives to use his work and his music to strengthen solidarity and nurture people to build power together for our mutual defense and liberation.

Dustin is an electrician in the IBEW Local 110. Outside of work, he enjoys volunteering, helping his neighbors around his community, and taking his disabled mother out for Sunday dinner.

Doug has lived in South Minneapolis pretty much their whole life. They've taken up metal work as their main profession and hobby. They teach this at the Chicago fire arts center. Doug also worked as a bike messenger for a few years and takes part in community group rides. While Doug wouldn't know where to place themself on a political spectrum they strive to strengthen their community and finds that the most significant examples of change they've seen in their life came from neighbors and community standing together for change. Doug currently works for themself as a welder, metalworker, and general contractor mostly based in the arts. They can be reached out to for commissions of many sorts through the Chicago fire arts center.

Cameron Kennedy, AKA The Olive Knight, is a longtime organizer originally from Mankato who left to hitchhike across the country from struggle to struggle when he was 18 after facing serious charges for the 2008 RNC. He came to spend years living in Oregon defending forests and combating the Nazi threat before returning to Minnesota 12 years ago to live in Minneapolis with his partner Nicole where he has lived and struggled since. Cam enjoys Mixed Martial Arts and co-founded a free anti-fascist MMA club called Left Jab. Cam also deeply enjoys camping, gaming, sci-fi, reveling with friends, and arguing with strangers on the Internet.

Callum Robinet (they/he) is a union organizer, low voltage technician, and security professional who works to bridge the gap between digital and physical spaces. They have been active in community organizing since the mid 2000s, working in anti-cult, anti-racist, and queer groups throughout the state. Cal is a founding member of the Ray Rainbolt Memorial Shooting Club, a decade old organization focused on firearms safety, instruction, and competition for union members and LGBT people. They are also the primary author of Radio Reference for Radicals - an instruction book for how to effectively use handheld radio for safety and security, and an author of the forthcoming New Union Defense Guard Training Manual - an introduction to physical security team practices for community self defense groups.

Brian Apland is a social worker, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, and organizer for a wide variety of causes. He was born in South Minneapolis and grew up in St. Paul suburbs Shoreview and North Oaks. He lived for seven years in Berkeley, California, but has otherwise lived in Minneapolis. Brian wants to live in a world without domination or violence where everyone has what they need and everyone can work. Sometimes he thinks about how to make that happen, but is skeptical of all political ideology. He currently lives in Minneapolis with his two cats.

Beth is an educator and member of MFE 59 who is committed to promoting and building autonomy and agency in her communities. She provides elementary age childcare and coaches a high school debate team. Beth enjoys reading, Rubik's cubes, and watching the Vikings.

Alec Stewart, a member of MAPE, currently serves as an Assistant Wildlife Manager for the Minnesota DNR where he works to manage and restore habitat on public land. He is originally from Milwaukee, but moved to the Twin Cities to attend the U of M. He found community here and has set down roots ever since. When the federal occupation began, he joined thousands of other Minnesotans to help support their community in the face of state sanctioned terror and violence. He believes that the strong labor solidarity unique to Minnesota was crucial to the success of the outpouring of community support. He knows that the targeting of immigrant communities across the nation is one more iteration of racist violence intended to divide the working class. The resistance to Metro Surge proved that Minnesota workers will not fall for this play. When fascism came knocking, it was workers who answered.