U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, January 15, threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota if Democratic authorities in that state do not stop attacks by “professional agitators” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
“If the corrupt politicians in Minnesota do not obey the law and do not stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists who are attacking ICE patriots, who are just trying to do their job, I will institute the Insurrection Act, something many presidents have done before me,” Trump wrote on his network, Truth Social.
Trump Threatens Minnesota with Insurrection Act
The president insisted that this will put “a quick end to the farce that is unfolding in this once great state”.
For her part, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters outside the White House on Thursday that she has spoken with Trump about the Insurrection Act and that the decision whether or not to implement it rests with him.
Noem said he did not specifically recommend the Insurrection Act to Trump, but that it was discussed as “one of the options he had constitutionally.”
“The president has that opportunity in the future. It’s his constitutional right, and it’s up to him if he wants to use it,” Noem said.
The Republican’s threat to implement the legislation, one of the strongest emergency powers and one that authorizes the president to deploy armed forces within U.S. territory, comes hours after an ICE agent shot and wounded a person in the leg in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a demonstration against immigration raids ordered by the Trump Administration.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the injured person allegedly used a snow shovel to attack the officer, who fired “in self-defense”.
Clashes between protesters and law enforcement escalated Wednesday night in Minneapolis shortly after the shooting. Federal agents used stun grenades and tear gas against the crowd, according to CNN.
The incident occurred in the same city in Minnesota where a week ago Renee Good, a 37-year-old American, was shot and killed by another ICE agent.
Following Good’s death, the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul sued the Trump Administration to stop the raids and the massive deployment of federal agents in those cities.
Trump responded by accusing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, of prioritizing “criminals and undocumented immigrants” and fomenting chaos.
Noem today blamed Walz for worsening the situation on the ground [by not working] with federal authorities.
“If things don’t improve with Governor Walz, I don’t think the streets will get safer. Governor Walz and his leadership team should contact us and see how we can work together, as we have done in many other states,” Noem said.
As for the administration’s ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations, Noem said “there are no plans to pull out of Minnesota.”
The U.S. president had already threatened to use the Insurrection Act, not to be confused with martial law, in response to protests against immigration crackdowns in the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Illinois, last year.
The last time the Insurrection Act was used was in 1992 under George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) in California in response to civil unrest in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four white police officers accused of beating an African-American driver. Bush (1989-1993) in California in response to civil unrest in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four white police officers accused of beating an African-American driver.
With information from EFE
