On Thursday, January 15, 2026, President Donald Trump threatened Minneapolis with invoking the Insurrection Act, a 1807 law meant to suppress rebellion or domestic violence, or in this case, deploy troops to subdue the protests against ICE agents. This comes as no surprise to officials within the state, as the administration has been persistent on immigration crackdown. However, if untrained federal officers were not shooting and killing innocent people, it would be a different situation. 

Insurrection Act

The Insurrection Act threat to deploy troops comes one day after a man was shot by an immigration officer who was attacked with a shovel and broom handle. The shooting only increased the number of protestors and the violence that ensued. Minneapolis citizens are terrified and angry with the influx of ICE agents in their communities. After an agent fatally shot Renee Good three times through her car windshield as she was fleeing, people fear who will be next.  

Trump has continuously threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which is rarely used to deploy the U.S. military or National Guard, against the wishes of state officials, to placate domestic disputes. “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 on social media.

The Insurrection Act was last used during President George H.W. Bush’s term in 1992 when local authorities had requested assistance. Before then, it had only been invoked two dozen other times. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded to Trump, stating he would bring this to court if necessary, and Governor Tim Walz said, “I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” in a post on X.

Protestors in Minneapolis

The threat to invoke the Insurrection Act comes after a feud on Wednesday night. The streets of Minneapolis were filled with smoke as federal officers fired tear gas into a small crowd that was protesting near the site of the latest shooting. In response, protestors threw rocks and shot off fireworks. Since Renee Good was fatally shot, agents have been successfully yanking people from their cars and homes, kidnapping them, simply because those individuals are more terrified of death. 

“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,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

Man Shot By ICE Agent

Homeland Security made a statement after the shooting of a Venezuelan man who legally resides in the United States. Federal law enforcement officers stopped the man as he was driving, and said the man drove off out of fear and crashed into a parked car. He proceeded to flee on foot, but officers caught up to him, and then several other people arrived and attacked the officer.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. Police Chief Brian O’Hara agreed with DHS’s version of events and said the person who was shot thankfully did not suffer from life-threatening injuries. 

However, this could all be avoided if masked men were not hunting people down on the streets and attempting to abduct them. Federal agent or not, they have set the precedent of what will happen if you do not fight. If you fight, you have a higher chance of survival than if you do not.