A Minneapolis street, choked with thousands of protesters whose chants echoed like thunder through the frigid December air, marked the explosive eruption of Minnesota’s $1 billion fraud scandal into a statewide uprising on December 10, 2025. What began as a simmering outrage over the misappropriation of taxpayer funds in social services programs—primarily the Feeding Our Future child nutrition scheme—ignited into a full-scale demonstration, drawing an estimated 5,000 participants to the steps of the State Capitol. The scandal, which federal prosecutors estimate has siphoned over $1 billion from federal aid intended for vulnerable children, the elderly, and those with disabilities, has ensnared 87 individuals, mostly from the Somali immigrant community, with 61 convictions secured as of early December.
The protests, organized by a coalition of Somali-American advocates, civil rights groups, and fiscal watchdogs, centered on demands for Governor Tim Walz’s resignation and a complete overhaul of state oversight mechanisms. Demonstrators waved placards reading “No More Stolen Futures” and “Walz Knew, Walz Failed,” highlighting early warnings ignored by the Minnesota Department of Education as far back as July 2019. Federal indictments revealed how fraudsters laundered funds through sham meal sites, funneling money into luxury cars, private villas in the Maldives, and overseas wire transfers—expenditures prosecutors branded “pure, unmitigated greed.” One convicted defendant, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $48 million in restitution for his role in diverting aid meant for hungry children.
President Donald Trump, seizing on the crisis during a December 2 cabinet meeting, lambasted Walz and Somali immigrants, declaring, “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country.” His remarks, amplified by Republican leaders like Sen. John Kennedy, who called the fraud “stealing” in a Senate speech, inflamed tensions, prompting counter-chants of “Racist Rhetoric Won’t Fix Fraud.” House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington echoed this, stating, “Democrats allowed a $1+ billion heist under Walz’s watch.”
As night fell, the crowd swelled, blocking intersections and prompting a heavy police presence. Somali community leaders, including those from the Islamic Institute of Minnesota, decried the fraud as isolated criminality, not reflective of their diaspora, while urging systemic reforms like AI-driven billing audits proposed by Walz in early 2025. The uprising, livestreamed to millions and trending with #MNFraudUprising, exposed deep fissures: economic desperation in immigrant enclaves, political scapegoating, and a welfare system vulnerable to exploitation. By dawn, arrests numbered in the dozens, but the thunderous demands for justice reverberated nationwide, a stark reminder of how unchecked greed can fracture a state’s social fabric.
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