Trump threatens military deployment over Minnesota protests

Federal law enforcement agents confront anti-ICE protesters during a demonstration outside the Bishop Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 15, 2026. [AFP] US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an emergency law that allows the domestic deployment of the military, after federal agents killed one person and injured another in Minnesota, sparking mass protests. Protesters have denounced the aggressive tactics of Trump's broad-reaching immigration raids in rallies in the Midwestern city, which is a Democratic stronghold. Federal agents fired their weapons in two separate incidents, wounding a man from Venezuela Wednesday and killing an American woman last week. The Insurrection Act allows a president sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act to suppress "armed rebellion" or "domestic violence" and use the armed forces "as he considers necessary" to enforce the 19th century law. "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 warned on Truth Social. Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accused federal agents of waging "a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota," in a video posted to X Wednesday night. In the short clip, Walz noted a number of violent incidents, including "breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street," and the January 7 killing of 37-year-old Renee Good as examples. "We must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully," Walz said, calling on Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "end this occupation." Walz also urged people to record any interaction they may have with ICE for future prosecution. Noem told reporters at a White House press briefing Thursday that it's up to Trump if he decides to invoke the law. Demonstrations against ICE in Minneapolis have stretched into the night in recent days and protesters have clashed with federal agents, who have deployed pepper spray and tear gas to disperse crowds. A sign with a reference to US President Donald Trump is seen among flowers and other messages at a makeshift memorial for Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 15, 2026. [AFP] Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the shooting late Wednesday resulted from a struggle between an ICE agent and a man he was trying to apprehend. "During the struggle, the federal agent discharged his weapon, striking one adult male," O'Hara told a press conference. Amid the tussle, two people emerged from a nearby residence and attacked the federal agent with a snow shovel and a broom handle, the Department of Homeland Security said, identifying the wounded man as an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. The man suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg and was taken to hospital, while the two others were taken into custody, officials said. The Insurrection Act was last invoked in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush at the request of the Republican governor of California, who was facing unprecedented riots in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers who had beaten Rodney King, a Black motorist, the previous year. Senior White House official Stephen Miller on Thursday accused Minnesota officials of "deliberately, willfully and purposefully" inciting a "violent insurrection." White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also lashed out at journalists, saying "media is absolutely complicit in this violence." But concerns about the tactics used by ICE are not limited to incidents of violent street enforcement and have raised questions about inadequate training and oversight of agents. Mexican authorities said Thursday they were also seeking details about the death of one of their citizens at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia this week. ICE broke its record for people dying in detention in 2025 with 30 deaths, according to data released by the agency. The number of people detained in recent years has similarly increased.

Trump threatens military deployment over Minnesota protests

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