Trump Threatens Use of Insurrection Act to Deploy Troops to Minneapolis

President Donald J. Trump threatened on Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, which could allow him to deploy U.S. troops to Minneapolis amid escalating clashes between protesters and federal agents after an immigration agent shot and killed a woman last week. The law, last used in 1992, would be a major escalation.

The administration has sent large numbers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the Minneapolis–St. Paul region — 2,000 already there and 1,000 more ordered to join them — and videos have shown agents using forceful tactics, including roughing people up, yanking people out of vehicles and smashing car windows.

Another person was shot Wednesday night, public schools have canceled classes, and Mayor Jacob Frey and the state’s governor have both said they do not want further federal interference. Mr. Trump posted on social media that he would “institute the INSURRECTION ACT” if Minnesota’s politicians did not act, and in a recent interview he said invoking the act would give him broad authority while also saying he had not yet done so.

At a White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt framed the threat as a warning to Democrats but said she did not know what would have to happen for the president to invoke the act. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Mr. Trump “certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that,” but she did not recommend using it and said she did not know whether he would do so.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Minneapolis, Insurrection Act, Ice, Jacob Frey