President Trump threatens to deploy the military in Minnesota after ICE raids spark protests and a fatal shooting, drawing condemnation from state officials.
MINNEAPOLIS: US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military domestically following federal immigration raids in Minnesota.
The threat comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were involved in two shootings, killing one person and injuring another, which sparked mass protests.
Protesters in Minneapolis have rallied against the aggressive tactics of Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The Insurrection Act allows a president to use the armed forces to suppress “armed rebellion” or “domestic violence”.
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accused federal agents of waging “a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota”.
In a video statement, Walz cited incidents including “breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street,” and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good.
“We must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully,” Walz said, calling on Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “end this occupation”.
Noem told reporters at the White House that any decision to invoke the law rests with President Trump.
Demonstrations have stretched into the night, with clashes between protesters and federal agents who have used pepper spray and tear gas.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a shooting on Wednesday resulted from a struggle between an ICE agent and a man he was trying to apprehend.
“During the struggle, the federal agent discharged his weapon, striking one adult male,” O’Hara stated.
The Department of Homeland Security said the wounded man was an immigrant from Venezuela who suffered a non-life-threatening leg wound.
Two other individuals who attacked the agent with a snow shovel and broom handle were taken into custody.
Senior White House official Stephen Miller accused Minnesota officials of “deliberately, willfully and purposefully” inciting a “violent insurrection”.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt claimed the “media is absolutely complicit in this violence”.
Mexican authorities said they are seeking details about the death of a Mexican citizen at an ICE facility in Georgia this week.
ICE reported a record 30 deaths in its detention facilities in 2025.
