Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act in response to Minnesota anti-ICE riots

President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a 19th century law that could allow him to deploy the military inside the US. Trump’s threat comes in the aftermath of an ICE agent shooting a suspected illegal immigrant during a scuffle at a traffic stop on Wednesday evening in Minneapolis.

Officials allege that two individuals attacked the officer on behalf of the suspected illegal immigrant with a shovel and a broom handle. Attacks on ICE agents from civilians have been widespread.

“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 Thursday morning on Truth Social.

Protests against federal immigration operations exploded since the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this month.

Trump floated using the Insurrection Act several times last year,including in October, citing the need for “safe cities” across the country. Deploying the military for domestic law enforcement purposes usually requires congressional authorization, but invoking the 19th-century law would permit Trump to do so unilaterally. It also allows for the federalization of National Guard troops under certain circumstances.

The Trump administration escalated immigration enforcement in Minneapolis last month after influencers brought new attention to day care fraud involving Somali immigrants in the region.

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it’s ending temporary protected status for Somalis, saying that those with TPS must leave the US by March 17.

Minnesota and Illinois sued the Trump administration earlier this week in an effort to force it to end the surge of ICE in those states. DHS claims the surge is necessary because of laws on the books there limiting local law enforcement’s cooperation with immigration authorities.

The standoff and enmity between ICE and far left protestors has created a tinderbox that could explode into violence, should protestors keep obstructing ICE from doing their jobs, and physically attacking them.