Trump’s threat follows immigration officer shooting of Venezuelan man fleeing in Minneapolis
Students take part in a protest against federal immigration action in front of the Minnesota State Capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota, US, January 14, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces in Minnesota after days of angry protests over a surge in immigration agents on the streets of Minneapolis. Confrontations between residents and federal officers have intensified after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot a US citizen, Renee Good, in a car eight days ago, and the protests have spread to other cities.
Trump’s latest threat came a few hours after an immigration officer shot a Venezuelan man the government said was fleeing after agents tried to stop his vehicle in Minneapolis.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE, who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump, a Republican, has for weeks derided the state’s Democratic leaders and called the Somali community in the area “garbage” who should be “thrown out” of the country. He has already sent nearly 3,000 federal officers into Minneapolis, carrying guns through the city’s icy streets in military-style camouflage gear and masks that hide their faces.
The officers have faced frequent protests by residents, some using whistles or tambourines. Agents have arrested both immigrants and protesters, at times smashing windows and pulling people from cars, and have been criticized for stopping Black and Latino US citizens and demanding identification.
‘Disgusting and intolerable’
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), overseeing Trump’s immigration crackdown, said that just before Wednesday’s shooting, two people attacked the federal officer with a broomstick and snow shovel as he wrestled with the Venezuelan man. The officer “fired defensive shots to defend his life,” DHS said.
DHS said the man had been allowed into the US in 2022 under the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program, but the Trump administration accused him of being in the country illegally. Reuters could not independently verify DHS’s account.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the FBI and Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were gathering evidence. The man’s injuries were not life-threatening.
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Mayor Jacob Frey called the ICE surge an invasion and said he had seen “conduct from ICE that is disgusting and intolerable.” He added: “We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities literally fighting one another.”
Trump supporters divided over immigration enforcement
The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the president to deploy the military or federalize a state’s National Guard to quell rebellion — an exception to laws prohibiting soldiers from performing civil or criminal law enforcement. It has been used 30 times in US history, according to New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. The Supreme Court has ruled the president alone can determine if the act’s conditions are met.
Trump has already federalized National Guard soldiers to aid immigration enforcement in Democrat-run cities, including Los Angeles last year, which a judge ruled unconstitutional.
Trump’s aggressive moves in Minnesota have split his supporters: 59% of Republicans favor prioritizing arrests even if people are hurt, while 39% prefer reducing harm even if it means fewer arrests, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey.
Legal challenges expected
If Trump sends soldiers to Minnesota, he would almost certainly face legal challenges. The Minnesota attorney general’s office has sued the Trump administration, claiming the ICE surge violates residents’ rights, and asked US District Judge Kate Menendez for a temporary restraining order.
Lawyer Brian Carter said agents engaged in “a pattern of unlawful, violent conduct,” including racial profiling and forced entry into homes without warrants.
In a social media post, Trump incorrectly claimed the judge had “declined to block” the ICE surge. Judge Menendez ordered the administration to respond by Monday, saying she would rule after that, calling the issues “enormously important” and central to state-government relations.
