Minneapolis, MN — President Donald Trump announced Thursday he may invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy federal troops in Minnesota, escalating a political and civil rights crisis unfolding in Minneapolis after consecutive shootings involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that if state and local officials “don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., … I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT … and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.”
The threat comes as Minneapolis remains tense following a Wednesday night incident in which a federal ICE officer shot and injured a Venezuelan man in the leg during a targeted immigration enforcement stop, according to city officials and federal authorities.
Crowds of protesters gathered near the scene, with authorities deploying gas and crowd-control measures after demonstrators threw rocks and other objects, according to The Associated Press.
This latest confrontation follows earlier unrest after another ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in early January, an event that triggered widespread protests and scrutiny of federal immigration operations.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara labeled the Wednesday night gathering an “unlawful” assembly, urging people to disperse for safety.
State and local leaders have sharply criticized the federal response. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz described the ongoing situation as chaotic and called for peaceful protests while rejecting the federal narrative around the shooting incidents.
The Insurrection Act, a seldom-used law dating back to 1807, grants the president authority to deploy U.S. military forces domestically in cases of rebellion or insurrection without congressional approval — a move that would mark a dramatic escalation after days of confrontation over immigration enforcement and civil liberties.
