United States President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning that he may invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military domestically, following deadly encounters between federal immigration agents and civilians in Minnesota that have triggered days of mass protests.
The protests, centred in Minneapolis, erupted after federal agents shot and killed an American woman last week and wounded a Venezuelan national during a separate operation on Wednesday. Demonstrators have accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of heavy-handed tactics amid sweeping immigration raids in the traditionally Democratic Midwestern state.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump accused Minnesota officials of failing to uphold the law and tolerating what he described as “professional agitators and insurrectionists”. He warned that unless state authorities intervened to protect federal agents, he would activate the Insurrection Act, a 19th-century law that allows the President to deploy armed forces to quell domestic unrest.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the insurrectionists from attacking the patriots of ICE, who are only doing their job, I will institute the Insurrection Act,” Trump declared.
The threat has intensified an already fraught standoff between the White House and Minnesota’s Democratic leadership. Governor Tim Walz accused federal agents of conducting what he termed a “campaign of organised brutality” against residents, citing incidents of alleged violence during enforcement operations, including the killing of 37-year-old Renee Good on January 7.
While urging citizens to continue protesting, Walz stressed the need for peaceful action and called on Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “end this occupation”. He also encouraged residents to document encounters with ICE for potential future legal action.
Protests in Minneapolis have stretched late into the night, with demonstrators clashing with federal agents who have used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse crowds. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Wednesday’s shooting followed a struggle between an ICE agent and a suspect during an attempted arrest. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the wounded man, identified as a Venezuelan national, sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg, while two other individuals were arrested for allegedly attacking the agent with household tools.
At the White House, Secretary Noem told reporters that the decision to invoke the Insurrection Act rests solely with the President. Senior adviser Stephen Miller went further, accusing Minnesota officials of deliberately inciting what he called a “violent insurrection”, while White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt criticised sections of the media, alleging complicity in the unrest.
Beyond the immediate violence, the crisis has reignited broader concerns over ICE’s operational methods and oversight. Mexican authorities confirmed they are seeking clarification over the death of one of their nationals at an ICE detention facility in Georgia this week. Official data show that 2025 recorded the highest number of deaths in ICE custody, with 30 fatalities, amid a sharp rise in detentions nationwide.
The Insurrection Act was last invoked in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush authorised military deployment during the Los Angeles riots following the acquittal of police officers involved in the beating of Rodney King. Trump’s threat to revive the law underscores the deepening political and social fault lines over immigration enforcement, federal authority and civil liberties in the United States.
