President Donald Trump has warned he will deploy the U.S. military to Minnesota if local leaders do not stop protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
At a Glance
- Trump posted on Truth Social he will invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials do not halt “agitators” confronting ICE.
- An ICE agent shot a man in the leg on Jan. 14; another agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7.
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned both ICE actions and Trump’s threat.
- The act, last used in 1992, would let federal troops police the state.
The Jan. 15 Threat
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The post came one day after an ICE agent wounded a man during an encounter in Minneapolis and one week after agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good when a group allegedly blocked officers during an immigration operation.
Local Leaders Push Back
Gov. Tim Walz urged residents not to escalate confrontations, warning it would “only further motivate Trump.” After the Insurrection Act threat, Walz posted on X: “Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are.”
Mayor Jacob Frey called the situation “impossible,” saying: “We cannot be at a place… where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another.”
History of Threats
Trump previously floated the act during the 2020 George Floyd protests and after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, though it was never invoked.
Upon returning to office in 2025:
- An executive order suggested the act could be used at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- He considered deploying troops against anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago.
- In October 2025 he told reporters he would act “if people were being killed and courts were holding this up or governors or mayors were holding us up.”
What the Act Allows
The Insurrection Act of 1807 lets presidents deploy active-duty and federalized National Guard troops inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or enforce laws when local authorities prove unable or unwilling to do so.
Previous use:
- 1992: California Gov. Pete Wilson requested federal troops in Los Angeles after Rodney King verdict riots.
- 1989: President George H.W. Bush sent forces to St. Croix amid unrest after Hurricane Hugo.
Reform Efforts
Sen. Dick Durbin has pushed to tighten the statute, telling the Senate in October: “In the hands of a man who wants to be a king… the Insurrection Act as it stands today would serve as yet another tool for dangerous executive overreach.”
Key Takeaways
- No president has invoked the Insurrection Act since 1992.
- Trump’s Thursday post marks his latest threat amid escalating clashes between protesters and federal immigration agents.
- Minnesota officials continue to call for de-escalation while resisting federal pressure.
