Roughly 1,500 active-duty soldiers are preparing for possible deployment in Minnesota after President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests against a surge of federal immigration officers in the state. The troops are assigned to two infantry battalions with the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, based in Alaska and trained for cold-weather operations, according to defence officials cited by The Washington Post.
Pentagon officials said the troops have been placed on alert to respond to potentially escalating violence in the Minneapolis area, describing the move as “prudent planning.” The president has repeatedly suggested deploying active-duty military against Americans after demonstrations escalated following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this month.
The rarely invoked 19th-century Insurrection Act would allow the president to dispatch active-duty troops and federalise National Guard service members to occupy a state and city led by Democratic officials. It was last used by President George H.W. Bush to suppress the 1992 Los Angeles riots after the acquittal of four police officers in the Rodney King beating.
Legal challenges from state and local officials have accused the administration of using American streets for political theatre. In December, the Supreme Court blocked the administration from sending the military into Chicago. Minnesota officials have also sued to stop the immigration surge, alleging it is a politically motivated and unconstitutional attack on the state.
The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey, who have rejected allegations and defended their response. A federal judge has blocked federal officers from retaliating against protesters and firing riot control weapons into crowds demonstrating against the operations.
