President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric regarding ongoing protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, threatening to invoke the 19th-century Insurrection Act to deploy military forces domestically. The declaration came via his Truth Social platform amid heightened tensions following two separate shooting incidents involving federal immigration agents.
The situation intensified Wednesday evening when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during an apprehension attempt. According to Homeland Security officials, the incident occurred when two individuals emerged from a nearby residence and assaulted the agent with a snow shovel and broom handle during the struggle. The wounded man received treatment for a non-life-threatening leg injury, while his alleged accomplices were taken into custody.
This marks the second shooting involving ICE personnel within a week in Minneapolis. The previous incident on January 7 resulted in the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, sparking sustained protests and drawing additional federal agents to the northern city.
Trump’s social media statement accused Minnesota politicians of failing to control ‘professional agitators and insurrectionists’ targeting ICE personnel. ‘If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators… I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT and quickly put an end to the travesty,’ the former president wrote.
The Insurrection Act, last invoked in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots, empowers the president to deploy military forces for domestic law enforcement during insurrection scenarios. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declined to speculate on whether Trump would follow through with the threat, acknowledging only that ‘it’s his constitutional right’ to utilize the mechanism.
The unfolding situation represents the latest escalation in Trump’s hardened immigration enforcement approach, which has previously included threats to deploy National Guard units and has drawn accusations of authoritarian overreach from critics.