Trump Threatens to Invoke Insurrection Act As Tensions In Minnesota Boil Over
President Trump warned Thursday that he may invoke the Insurrection Act to “put an end” to ongoing protests against federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, unless Minnesota officials help restore order.
The threat comes as unrest is escalating, sparked by the shooting death of 37-year-old U.S. citizen Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer last week. That was followed by another federal officer shooting a Venezuelan undocumented migrant in the leg Wednesday night after agents were attacked during a traffic stop.
Federal authorities have sent nearly 3,000 immigration agents to the Twin Cities in the past two weeks – now outnumbering local police officers – as part of Trump’s broader deportation push and an effort to clamp down on growing protests.
Despite mounting backlash – and escalating clashes between protesters and officials – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said there are “no plans” to pull agents out of Minnesota.
ON THE GROUND
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said some protesters threw ice, fireworks and other objects at law enforcement Wednesday as federal officials sprayed tear gas on demonstrations. Authorities reported that several federal vehicles were vandalized.
Meanwhile, accounts online show chaotic confrontations and clashes between Minnesotans and officers: people being pulled from cars, doors knocked down, and individuals tackled by federal officials during enforcement actions.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino called on state and local officials to cooperate with federal agents on Fox News Thursday, arguing that similar deployments in other Democratic-led cities did not become as volatile because local leadership worked with federal authorities — especially on crowd control outside ICE sites.
State and local leaders — including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey — are resisting any cooperation with the feds.
In an address Wednesday evening, Walz called on Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “end this occupation.” He also encouraged locals to “take out that phone and hit record” if ICE agents are in their neighborhood. Frey called for calm and asked protesters to stop "taking the bait."
THE INSURRECTION ACT
Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act on Truth Social Thursday morning, unless Minnesota politicians “stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job,” he wrote.
What is it exactly? The Insurrection Act is a rarely used law that allows a president to deploy U.S. military forces domestically. Every modern use of the Insurrection Act has come either at a governor’s request or to expand civil rights protections over state objections. It has been invoked 30 times by 15 presidents since President George Washington first used it to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794.
President George H.W. Bush last invoked it in 1992 to deploy Marines and other active-duty troops during the Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King verdict.
The last time a president invoked it unilaterally over a state’s objections was in 1965 when southern states refused to enforce civil rights laws.