Trump Threatens Insurrection Act as Minnesota Protests Escalate
Donald Trump warns he may invoke the Insurrection Act after violent anti-ICE protests in Minnesota, escalating tensions over immigration enforcement.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to quell unrest over federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
He threatened to send in the military after a night of protests and vandalism in the Minnesota city, following an incident in which an agent shot a man in the leg.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an officer fired his weapon after being attacked by three Venezuelan nationals wielding shovels and broomsticks.
Tensions have been high in Minneapolis since an immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good last week, sparking protests across the country.
The Insurrection Act is a 19th-century law that allows for the deployment of active-duty military personnel for law enforcement duties within the United States.
Trump has previously said he could invoke the 1807 law elsewhere, but he has never done so.
The president posted on Social that he would use the law if Minnesota authorities failed to stop "professional agitators and insurrectionists."
The DHS said Wednesday's shooting occurred after a pursuit of a Venezuelan national, Julio Cesar Sosa-Solis, who had previously been convicted of driving without a license.
According to the agency's statement, after the pursuit, Sosa-Solis exited his vehicle and confronted the federal agent.
Two other undocumented Venezuelan immigrants, Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma, then emerged from a nearby apartment, according to the agency.
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The DHS said the three men attacked the law enforcement officer with snow shovels and broomsticks, prompting the agent to fire his weapon, striking Sosa-Solis in the leg. The agent was taken to the hospital. Sosa-Salis was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. All three Venezuelan nationals were arrested.
“What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted assassination of a federal law enforcement officer,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
She said the officer was “ambushed” by the individuals and fired in self-defense.
On Wednesday night, clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement near the scene of the shooting in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Minneapolis.
The city’s police chief, Brian O’Hara, said his officers were pelted with fireworks, ice, and snowballs.
According to the FBI, several federal government vehicles were damaged in the disturbance, and items were stolen from inside the vehicles. The FBI said Thursday it is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the recovery of the stolen government property and/or the arrest of those responsible for damaging and stealing government property.
Nearly 3,000 federal officers have been deployed to Minnesota in recent weeks.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has called for ICE to leave the city, said on X Wednesday: “Whatever the cause of this incident, the situation we are seeing in our city cannot continue.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, posted on X Thursday, directly appealing to the president: “Let’s de-escalate the situation.”
Walz, who previously called ICE a “modern-day Gestapo,” told Minnesotans: “We cannot continue to fuel the flames of chaos.”
The Democratic governor, who ran for U.S. vice president with Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, announced earlier this month that he would be ending his reelection bid.
The move came after a fraud scandal involving a state welfare program. Trump has said that Operation Metro Surge will continue in Minnesota, after a federal judge on Wednesday refused to issue a temporary restraining order against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sought by Minnesota prosecutors.
Tensions over immigration enforcement in the city have been high since January 7, when 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent.
The Trump administration maintains that the ICE agent acted in self-defense, while local authorities argue that the woman posed no threat.
Video of the incident shows ICE agents approaching a car stopped in the middle of the road.
As Good attempts to drive away, an agent standing in front of the vehicle points a gun at the driver and fires three shots. The FBI is investigating the incident.
An online fundraiser started for Good's widow and family has raised more than $1.4 million. Another online fundraiser for Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent at the center of the fatal confrontation, has raised $740,000.
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