Minnesota men convicted of gang charges connected to federal crackdown

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota jury has convicted three alleged members of a Minneapolis street gang of charges stemming from what prosecutors said was a yearslong pattern of violence and murder. The charges are part of a federal gang crackdown authorities announced in 2023 that ensnared dozens of members or associates of two major Minneapolis gangs. Tuesday’s guilty verdict marks the first conviction in the federal operation with the rare use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute, also known as RICO. The anti-corruption law is used to target organized crime, and prosecutors compared the defendants’ actions to the mafia. The three men have said they acted in self-defense during violent encounters and aren’t gang members.