Trump Threatens To Invoke The Insurrection Act In Minnesota After Protests

President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to send the military into Minneapolis over widespread demonstrations after federal agents shot and wounded a man, and in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a protester by an ICE agent last week.

“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,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

Minnesota state and local leaders have called for federal immigration agents to leave the city, arguing they're exacerbating tensions on the ground.

"This is not sustainable” Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey said in a press conference Wednesday night. “This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in, and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward, to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act — which authorizes the deployment of the military for certain domestic purposes during civil unrest — when his mass deportation efforts have been met with protests or violence. He sharpened that threat recently after the Supreme Court ruled that his previous efforts to deploy the National Guard into Democratic-led cities exceeded his authority.

Trump’s post comes as a federal judge is on the cusp of a ruling that could sharply curtail ICE’s ability to push back on protests and make arrests of demonstrators. U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez intends to rule no later than Friday morning on whether to restrict ICE’s use of nonlethal force, stops of motorists who tail ICE vehicles and arrests of people obeying police perimeters.

In a separate post Thursday morning, Trump referred to Menendez, a Biden appointee, as a “highly respected” judge for her decision to wait a few days before deciding on a broader lawsuit by Minnesota against “Operation Metro Surge,” the infusion of federal authorities into Minneapolis and St. Paul to carry out immigration operations.

Minnesota officials urged people living in the city to exercise restraint as violence has escalated.

“I know you’re angry,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote Wednesday night on X. “I’m angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets. But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace. Don’t give him what he wants.”

Trump’s statement came just hours after a man was shot in the leg by federal law enforcement, in what the Department of Homeland Security said was a move of self-defense.

The agency alleged in a statement on X that the officer was “violently assaulted” by the suspect, as well as two others, and fired his weapon in self-defense.

DHS blamed Walz and Frey for the incident.

“Their hateful rhetoric and resistance against men and women who are simply trying to do their jobs must end,” the agency wrote. “Federal law enforcement officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest criminals and lawbreakers.”