Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act over unrest in Minnesota

U.S. President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials do not stop what he described as attacks on federal immigration officers.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,” Trump said in a social media post early Thursday.

Trump said the measure would “quickly put an end” to what he described as disorder in Minnesota, adding that “many Presidents have done [it] before me.”

The comments come as Minneapolis and surrounding areas have seen repeated incidents involving federal law enforcement, including confrontations linked to immigration enforcement operations, following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent.

Trump has previously raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act in response to protests and legal challenges to federal deployments. In October, he said he would consider using the law if courts, governors, or mayors were “holding us up” from deploying forces to protect federal property.

“So far it hasn’t been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason,” Trump said at the time, adding that he would act if people were being killed or if state or local officials obstructed federal action.

The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the president to deploy U.S. military forces domestically under limited circumstances, including to suppress rebellion, enforce federal law, or protect civil rights when state authorities are unwilling or unable to act.

It has been invoked only sparingly in modern history, including during the 1992 Los Angeles riots and during school desegregation efforts in the mid-20th century.