WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke a law that allows domestic deployment of the military, as protests roil Minnesota after a federal agent shot dead a woman last week.
“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…and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump posted on social media.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law & stop the professional agitators & insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done…” – President Trump pic.twitter.com/d7XJMA7qUU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 15, 2026
This rarely used law allows the government to deploy soldiers for law enforcement purposes.
On Wednesday, an immigration agent shot and injured a man in Minneapolis, triggering further protests.
The shooting marked the second time in a week an ICE agent had shot someone in Minneapolis, with the previous shooting resulting in the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on January 7.
Surge of federal agents
This sparked ongoing protests and a surge of federal agents into the northern US city.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooting late Wednesday resulted from a struggle in front of a residence between a man and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
“During the struggle, the federal agent discharged his weapon, striking one adult male,” O’Hara told reporters at a press conference.
Amid the tussle, two people emerged from a nearby building 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 transported to a hospital for treatment, 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.
Deadly shooting
The Wednesday’s shooting incident further stoked tensions a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, a US citizen, in her car in Minneapolis.
The killing of the mother of three and the Trump administration’s depiction of her as a “domestic terrorist” sparked global outrage, leading to demonstrations across the US.
Smoke filled the streets of Minneapolis on Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd while protesters threw rocks and shot fireworks.
The US president has repeatedly threatened to use the Insurrection Act to deploy the US military or federalise the National Guard for domestic law enforcement over the objections of state governors.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the situation as not “sustainable”.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in, and at the same time, we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbours, to maintain order,” he said.
Frey described a federal force that is five times bigger than the city’s 600-officer police force as having “invaded” the city, scaring and angering residents, some of whom want the local officers to “fight ICE agents”.
At the same time, the police force is still responsible for their day-to-day work to keep the public safe.
Thousands of arrests
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it has made more than 2,000 arrests in Minnesota since early December and is promising to not back down.
The DHS accused Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, both Democrats, of encouraging resistance to ICE with “hateful rhetoric”, a contention Frey rejected.
Disputing accusations of misconduct, DHS has said its agents have increasingly been subjected to assaults while trying to find and detain immigration violators.
Speaking at a news conference alongside Frey, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara urged crowds he described as “engaging in unlawful acts” near the shooting scenes to disperse.
“We do not need this to escalate any further,” O’Hara said.
