Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy U.S. military forces to Minnesota as protests escalate around federal immigration enforcement.
The Insurrection Act gives the president the legal authority to deploy military forces on US soil to quell civil disobedience. It was first invoked by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 to deal with a plot to create a separate nation in the west.
Street clashes between federal agents and demonstrators in Minneapolis have surged in recent days following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer 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,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He added, ‘Many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.’
Trump’s threat comes following the shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis who allegedly assaulted an immigration officer during a traffic stop.
The Department of Homeland Security said that two individuals attacked the federal agent on Wednesday night with a broomstick and snow shovel as he tried to detain the Venezuelan.
The act was last used by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 after he deployed federal troops during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, California.
Trump is threatening to deploy US federal troops to Minnesota amid clashes with demonstrators and immigration agents
Federal agents have fought with anti-ICE protesters in recent days following the shooting of Renee Good
Trump’s threat comes following the shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis who allegedly assaulted an immigration officer during a traffic stop on Wednesday night
Protests and civil unrest scenes have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since the death of Good, on Jan. 7 amid a massive immigration crackdown that has seen thousands of officers sent into the Twin Cities.
Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the situation as not ‘sustainable.’
