A professional conduct complaint has been filed against a Hennepin County public defender who allegedly encouraged protesters to barricade the doors of the federal courthouse in Minneapolis with their own bodies.
In recent weeks, anti-ICE protests have broken out across Minneapolis as federal agencies have engaged in Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale immigration enforcement effort. The protests have resulted in destroyed federal vehicles and the storming of a St. Paul church.
Much of the protest activity erupted after the Jan. 7 death of Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman who was shot and killed by an ICE agent. Federal authorities have said the ICE agent acted in self-defense after Good weaponized her vehicle against the agent.
After Good’s death, protests began outside the federal courthouse in Minneapolis that same day. Now, a complaint filed with the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board alleges that one Minnesota lawyer encouraged protesters to barricade the federal building.
According to the conduct complaint, Brenna O’Connor is a Hennepin County public defender who “was filmed encouraging others to barricade themselves to or around the federal courthouse, with their bodies, to obstruct whatever proceedings were to occur within.”
The complaint primarily cites a video from Jan 7. which shows protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse. According to the complaint, O’Connor told people: “I say we line up right across these and block these doors. Go ahead, try and move us. Let’s block ’em in.”
Minneapolis (Jan. 7) — I have identified the leftist radical instructing her comrades to physically obstruct a federal courthouse. She is a lawyer (ID 0397165) named Brenna O'Connor (née Rahmlow) who works in the Hennepin County Public Defender's office. pic.twitter.com/iy2R42DOxA
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) January 8, 2026
O’Connor allegedly said she was not “provid[ing] legal advice,” but reportedly added, “I will say, minimum bail, $78 exactly is the minimum bail, make sure you have some cash on you when you are out, make sure you get yourselves out.”
Complaint filed by the Center to Advance Security in America
In Minnesota, lawyers must abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct. The Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board has the authority to discipline attorneys for violating those rules.
The complaint against O’Connor says she violated the rules “by virtue of attempting to block whatever proceedings were occurring in the federal courthouse. This action alone not only constitutes conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, but it impedes officers from performing their duties in front of the court and impedes the official proceedings within the courthouse. It violates both federal and state statutes.”
“Indeed, her purpose could serve no other end than to prevent proceedings that day,” the complaint says. “Unless, of course, it was to ‘block ‘em in,’ which is a separate crime of False Imprisonment.”
“To make matters worse, she even advises others on how to commit the same crimes by
joining her,” it continues. “She advises them to carry cash for bail. This demonstrates that she knew full well that her idea constitutes a crime. It also demonstrates that she used her legal expertise to help others commit a crime with minimal consequence.”
The complaint against O’Connor was filed by the Center to Advance Security in America, a nonpartisan group “dedicated to improving the safety and security of the American people” by “inform[ing] them about the actions of their government and its officials that impact their safety; peace and security; democracy, civil rights, and civil liberties; and privacy.”
In a statement to Alpha News, a spokesperson for the organization said, “regardless of O’Connor’s political beliefs, she must always abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct. Her egregious use of her legal expertise to help others commit a crime with minimal consequence is unacceptable conduct for an attorney.”
A review of O’Connor’s file with the LPRB shows that she was admitted to the Minnesota bar in 2015 and has no disciplinary actions against her.
Alpha News reached out to O’Connor for this story but did not hear back.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
