Trump threatens Insurrection Act as Blanche accuses Gov. Walz of 'terrorism'

Tensions escalate as Trump threatens Insurrection Act, Blanche accuses Minnesota governor of 'terrorism' The 1807 law on using the military on U.S. soil hasn't been used for decades. President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, January 14, 2026.Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche attends a news conference, November 19, 2025 in Washington.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images A federal agent holds a crowd-control weapon, following an incident where a civilian's car was hit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 12, 2026.Tim Evans/Reuters President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to send in the U.S. military as tensions intensify in Minneapolis following a second shooting in a week involving a federal officer amid Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city. "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 social media post. On Wednesday night, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, needed to be stopped from "terrorism." "Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement. It's disgusting," Blanche posted on X. "Walz and Frey -- I'm focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It's a promise." ABC News has reached out to Walz and Frey's offices for comment on Blanche's statement. The deputy attorney general's blunt post came after Walz earlier on Wednesday evening had issued a sharp rebuke of the federal government's law enforcement presence after a federal officer shot a person who they said had fled a traffic stop and then, along with two other people, began attacking the officer. The shooting came one week after Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was fatally shot by an ICE agent. The Department of Homeland Security has said that Good was allegedly attempting to run over law enforcement officers, a claim disputed by local officials. "It’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government," Walz said in an address on Wednesday. He urged residents to "protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully." Frey, who has called on ICE to "get the f--- out" of Minneapolis, said on Wednesday "the situation we are seeing in our city is not sustainable." Trump previously threatened to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act last summer when protests were unfolding in Los Angeles over the administration's immigration crackdown and deployment of the National Guard. The law, which authorizes the use of the military on U.S. soil for certain purposes, hasn't been enacted for decades. It...

Preview: ~500 words