Minneapolis On Edge: Trump Threatens Military Crackdown
Synopsis
President Donald Trump is threatening to send the U.S. military into Minnesota to “get the job done” and stop protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The threat follows two shootings by federal officers in Minneapolis, one of them fatal, that plunged the city into chaos. As Trump dubs protesters “insurrectionists,” local authorities decry the 3,000-officer crackdown as an “occupation.” The move would allow the military to perform domestic law enforcement where governors request such aid, the president said at a news conference Monday morning in the Rose Garden, a step that no sitting Army general has taken in the 30 years since the end of the George Bush administration
President Donald Trump’s threats of U.S. military action against protests in Minnesota. On Thursday, January 15, 2026, the President threatened to use a law that is 219 years old called the Insurrection Act if local leaders do not heed his orders to prevent what he says are “professional agitators” from disrupting immigration agents. “The situation began to build up last week with increasingly violent and angry protests in Minneapolis.
Tensions spilled over again on Wednesday night after a federal immigration officer shot a man in the leg. The event took place a mere eight days after another officer shot and killed Renee Good, who was an American citizen, in a separate immigration sweep. The streets of Minneapolis have since become a “war zone,” where federal officers shot tear gas and flash-bangs at throngs of protesters.
What Is the Insurrection Act?
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a potent law that gives the president the legal authority to bypass rules that prevent a president from using military forces as a police force on American soil. Soldiers never have the power to detain American citizens, except that now they do when there is an “insurrection” or a complete breakdown of order.
• History: It has been deployed about 30 times, by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and other presidents to protect civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s.
• The Catch: In normal circumstances, the governor of a state must request military assistance. But the law allows a president to go it alone if he believes federal laws are being thwarted, or if people’s rights are being trampled and the state won’t jump in.
A City Under ‘Occupation’
The crisis kicked off when the Department of Homeland Security announced what it called its largest immigration operation ever: 3,000 federal agents in the Twin Cities. Those agents, wearing masks and military-style fatigues, have been pulling people from cars or homes, resulting in repeated standoffs with neighbours and activists. Both Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have criticised the operation. Mayor Frey likened the federal force to an “invasion” that is terrorising the city’s Somali and Latino communities. On Wednesday,
Governor Walz delivered an unusually pointed speech calling on the federal government to end the “occupation” and urged Minnesotans to record every encounter with the agents for future legal cases.
Abuse of Force and Divided Support for Aggressive Tactics
The president’s “iron fist” has created deep splits in the population. A new survey published Thursday shows that while 59% of Republicans say they back the crackdown even if people are hurt in the process, nearly 40% believe authorities should set their sights on minimising harm to people even at the expense of fewer arrests.
And while the White House says they are in Minnesota to thwart “fraud” and expel “criminals,” local leaders say the tactics are harming innocent people and making the city less safe. If Trump goes through with his threat, it would be the first time that the Insurrection Act has been invoked since 1992, when riots erupted in Los Angeles over the beating of a black man, Rodney King, by white police officers. The city is still on edge for now, with more protests due this weekend.
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