Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to Minneapolis protests

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to rising tensions between protesters and federal personnel in Minneapolis. Federal law enforcement officers confront residents in Minneapolis early Thursday.Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images Demonstrators protest outside the Whipple Federal Building Wednesday.Scott Olson / Getty Images “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 wrote in a post on Truth Social. His warning came just hours after a federal officer shot a man in the leg after an attempted traffic stop in Minneapolis on Wednesday night. Protests against federal immigration operations exploded after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross earlier this month. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that she had discussed the possibility of using the Insurrection Act with the president. “He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that,” Noem told reporters outside the White House. When asked about Trump's comments, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that “Minnesota is out of control." He added, “You have local and state leaders who seem to be encouraging violence and, and all of this madness, and the president’s frustrated about it and so are we." Trump floated using the Insurrection Act several times last year, citing the need for “safe cities” across the country. The president also considered invoking it during his first term amid protests in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd in police custody but ultimately decided against it, a senior administration official told NBC News in October . Deploying the military for domestic law enforcement purposes usually requires congressional authorization, but invoking the 19th-century law would permit Trump to do so unilaterally. It also allows for the federalization of National Guard troops under certain circumstances. The law is rarely used. President George H.W. Bush was the last to invoke it, during the Los Angeles riots in 1992 . Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday: “Minnesota needs ICE to leave, not an escalation that brings additional federal troops beyond the 3,000 already here. The mayor’s priority is keeping local law enforcement focused on public safety, not diverted by federal overreach.” On Wednesday evening, Walz, a Democrat, said that the presence of ICE officers was no longer “a matter of immigration enforcement.” “Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government,” he said. “Let me say once again to Donald Trump and Kristi Noem - end this occupation. You’ve done enough.” The Trump administration escalated immigration...

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