President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Minnesota leadership on Thursday, threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy U.S. troops to Minneapolis if local officials do not quell ongoing protests against federal immigration agents.
The threat marks a significant escalation in the standoff between the White House and state officials, coming less than 24 hours after a chaotic scene in North Minneapolis where a federal agent shot a man in the leg during an arrest attempt. RELATED: Snow Shovel Ambush: Federal Agent Opens Fire During Violent Minneapolis Brawl
The President’s warning, delivered via social media, explicitly targeted what he called “corrupt politicians” whom he accused of allowing lawlessness to fester.
“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 wrote.
The Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, grants the president the authority to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, potentially bypassing the consent of state governors.
Wednesday’s Flashpoint
The immediate catalyst for the President’s statement was a violent confrontation on Wednesday evening. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), agents were conducting a “targeted traffic stop” involving a Venezuelan national.
DHS officials stated that the suspect resisted arrest and “violently assaulted” an officer, allegedly using a shovel and broom handle during the struggle.
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During the altercation, an agent fired, striking the man in the leg. The City of Minneapolis confirmed the man was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The incident poured gasoline on an already volatile situation. In the hours that followed, demonstrators converged near the scene, facing off against federal agents who deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and flash bangs to disperse the crowd.
A City on Edge
Tensions in the Twin Cities have been at a boiling point since last week, following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman and local poet, by an ICE agent on January 7. That shooting sparked nationwide protests and drew sharp condemnation from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
In a statewide address on Wednesday night, Governor Walz characterized the federal presence not as law enforcement, but as an “occupation.” He accused federal agents of a “campaign of organized brutality,” alleging they have been conducting indiscriminate stops and kidnapping citizens into unmarked vans.
“This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” Walz said, urging Minnesotans to film federal agents to build evidence for future prosecutions.
With the President now putting the option of military intervention on the table, the conflict has shifted from a local dispute over policing to a constitutional showdown over federal power and state sovereignty.
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