Donald Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act to end anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis
The Insurrection Act, which dates back to 1807, empowers the president to deploy the US military and federalize National Guard units domestically to suppress insurrections, rebellions, or civil disorder.
January 15, 2026 08:35 PM IST
First published on: Jan 15, 2026 at 08:34 PM IST
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A federal law enforcement officer deploys pepper spray during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against federal officers in Minneapolis.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, an ICE agent opened fire at an undocumented Venezuelan man after he attacked the officer with a shovel and broom handle as he was trying to resist being arrested.
Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act
“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, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
The Insurrection Act, which dates back to 1807, empowers the president to deploy the US military and federalize National Guard units domestically to suppress insurrections, rebellions, or civil disorder.
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It was last used in 1992 by then-President George HW Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles.
ICE shooting of Renee Good
The shooting took place amid heightened tensions in Minneapolis over the killing of Renee Good, who was shot in the head by an ICE agent.
A federal immigration officers aims pepper spray at a journalist on Lake Street in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal agents have been carrying out raids and arresting illegal immigrants in Minneapolis, despite the opposition from Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December.
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Things came to a head on January 7, when an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, fatally shot 37-year-old Good inside her vehicle.
The Trump administration has defended the ICE agent who opened fire at Good, claiming that he acted in self-defence, despite several videos from the scene suggesting that he was not in line of danger.
Photographs are stuck to a lamp post for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
The killing of the mother of three has caused massive anger in Minnesota and across the US, with federal agents being harassed by angry bystanders demanding that the officers pack up and leave.
“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 neighbors, to maintain order,” Mayor Frey said on Wednesday.
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Frey said the federal force — five times the size of the city’s 600-officer police force — has “invaded” Minneapolis, scaring and angering residents.
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A federal law enforcement officer deploys pepper spray during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher) 
