Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Saturday he would deploy the Minnesota National Guard after President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to respond to unrest tied to federal immigration enforcement in the state.
Walz urged demonstrators and residents to “stay safe and stay peaceful today” as protests continued alongside immigration operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies. In a separate update, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said National Guard units were staging to support local law enforcement and emergency management.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, ordered about 1,500 active-duty troops to be ready for a possible deployment to Minnesota, defense officials told The Washington Post earlier Saturday. The White House described the move as routine contingency planning, saying it is typical for the Pentagon “to be prepared for any decision the president may or may not make.” Defense Department spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment, and ABC News reported the troop preparations earlier.
Trump’s warning came after he said Minnesota officials were failing to halt attacks on federal agents. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said that unless the state could stop protesters from “attacking” ICE agents, he would “institute the INSURRECTION ACT” and “quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.”
On Friday, he lowered the temperature, saying there was no reason to invoke the law “right now,” while adding, “If I needed it, I’d use it.”
The Insurrection Act, enacted in 1807, permits a president to deploy active-duty troops domestically or take control of a state’s National Guard in response to a “rebellion.” Using it would be an extraordinary step and would be the first time since President George H.W. Bush relied on it during the Los Angeles riots in 1992.
Tensions in Minnesota rose after an ICE officer shot and killed anti-ICE activist Renee Good on Jan. 7 as officers tried to arrest her for obstructing them, authorities said. Walz ordered National Guard members on Jan. 9 to be staged and ready in case they were needed.
Another ICE-related shooting occurred Wednesday night in Minneapolis after a Venezuelan man ICE said had illegally entered the United States ran during a targeted traffic stop. ICE said the man and two others attacked an officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, and the officer shot the primary suspect in the leg.
A federal judge on Friday limited ICE’s use of crowd-control tools such as tear gas and pepper spray to protect peaceful protesters and barred the agency from launching traffic stops of protesters who had not broken any laws.
