Trump threatens Insurrection Act to quell Minneapolis protests after immigration crackdown shootings
MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to Minnesota, aiming to quell persistent protests over a federal immigration crackdown that has roiled the Twin Cities after two shootings involving immigration officers this month.
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The warning came a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who authorities say was attacked with a shovel and broom handle — the second high-profile confrontation in Minneapolis since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in a social media post.
The Insurrection Act, an 1807 statute allowing presidents to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement over state objections, has been used more than two dozen times. It was last invoked in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to help end unrest in Los Angeles, at the request of local officials. Trump previously threatened to use the act in 2020 amid nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Minnesota leaders moved swiftly to push back. “I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X. Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court; he is already suing to halt the Department of Homeland Security’s surge, which the agency says has resulted in more than 2,500 arrests since Nov. 29 as part of a Twin Cities operation called Metro Surge.
The operation expanded when ICE, a DHS agency, sent 2,000 officers and agents to the metro area in early January. Protesters gathered again Thursday at a downtown federal building serving as a base for the crackdown, chanting “shame on you” at officers posted outside. Demonstrations have become a near-daily fixture since Good’s death. “This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday, urging calm.
On Wednesday, federal officers stopped a driver from Venezuela who was in the U.S. illegally, according to DHS. The driver fled after crashing into a parked car, and three people then attacked an officer, the agency said. “Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the wounded man’s injuries were not life-threatening. The clash occurred about 4.5 miles from the site of Good’s killing.
The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and items were stolen as agents responded to the shooting, releasing photos of broken windows and painted insults. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information.
Civil liberties groups intensified their legal fight. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three U.S. citizens — two Somali and one Hispanic — who allege they were questioned or detained in recent days without warrants and targeted by racial profiling. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as unconstitutional tactics. The government did not immediately comment.
Similar lawsuits in Los Angeles and Chicago have shown early promise only to stall on appeal. In Chicago last year, a judge briefly ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to provide nightly briefings after allegations of excessive force against protesters; an appeals court halted the updates within three days.
The unrest is reverberating through classrooms. St. Paul Public Schools, which enrolls more than 30,000 students, said it will offer an online option for families who do not feel safe sending children to school. Campuses will close until Thursday next week to prepare. Minneapolis Public Schools announced temporary remote learning options as well, and the University of Minnesota said some courses will shift or offer alternatives when a new term begins next week.
The White House did not provide a timeline for any Insurrection Act action. For now, the Twin Cities brace for more demonstrations — and more legal and political showdowns — as the federal operation continues.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
