MINNEAPOLIS/WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy troops for domestic law-enforcement duties if Minnesota officials do not contain unrest that has erupted around federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
Trump’s warning followed a night of protests, vandalism and clashes in north Minneapolis after a federal immigration officer shot a man in the leg during an attempted arrest, and amid ongoing anger over the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renée Nicole Good on January 7 by an ICE officer — an incident now under FBI review.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would use the Insurrection Act if state and local leaders failed to stop what he called “professional agitators and insurrectionists,” framing the unrest as a direct threat to federal officers. The Insurrection Act allows a president, under specified circumstances, to use active-duty military or federalized National Guard forces to suppress civil disorder and enforce federal authority inside the United States; it was last used during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday’s shooting occurred after a vehicle pursuit involving Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, described by DHS as a Venezuelan national, and that Sosa-Celis and two other men attacked the federal officer with a snow shovel and broom handle. DHS said the officer fired a “defensive” shot, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg; both the officer and Sosa-Celis were taken to hospital, and three men were arrested.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called the incident an attempted murder of federal law enforcement and said the officer had been “ambushed.” Local police said officers responding to the disorder were struck by fireworks and projectiles, while federal vehicles were damaged and items were stolen from inside them.
The FBI on Thursday announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the recovery of stolen government property and/or the arrest of those responsible for the destruction and theft.
The unrest is unfolding amid Operation Metro Surge, a federal deployment that PBS reported involved 2,000 federal agents sent to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area for intensified immigration enforcement. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz urged de-escalation, while Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the situation was “not sustainable,” even as both have criticized the scale and tactics of the federal presence.
