Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other local officials announced yesterday that they were mobilizing the state’s National Guard and placing them on standby. This, amid the tension-filled environment in the state due to the deployment of 3,000 Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by President Trump. At least two people have been shot by federal agents, and one, Renee Nicole Good, fatally shot.
And there have been numerous other clashes between ICE agents and residents of the state, many captured on camera and displayed on YouTube and other social media platforms. Walz’s order came after the president this week threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy military units to the state to quell citizen unrest.
Walz’s Announcement
Minnesota National Guard spokesperson Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya made the announcement yesterday, saying.
“At Gov. Walz’s direction, the Minnesota National Guard has been mobilized. Troops are in place to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies. The National Guard is staged and ready to respond. We are not deployed to city streets at this time. Troops will help provide traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully.
“If our members are activated, they will be wearing reflective vests … to help distinguish them from other agencies in similar uniforms. These Minnesota National Guardsmen live, work, and serve in our state, and are focused on protecting life, preserving property, and ensuring Minnesotans can safely exercise their First Amendment rights.”
There appears to be no cessation of tensions, as there are continued clashes between protesters and ICE agents. For example, there are ongoing protests at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, which is being used to stage ICE operations in the state. Gov. Walz and other local officials have strongly urged protestors to remain peaceful and not interfere with agents performing their tasks. They have also added that if tensions rise in a situation and there is a threat of violence, to please go home.
Judge’s Ruling on Peaceful Protests
Also, on Friday. US District Judge Katherine Menendez ruled in a preliminary injunction, “That federal agents are not allowed to arrest or retaliate against peaceful protesters or use pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against them. “She went on to say “that agents can no longer stop and detain drivers when there is no reasonable articulable suspicion they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with federal operations. “The act of safely following the officers at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop.“
The judge found that during “Operation Metro Surge,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE officials likely violated the First Amendment rights of protestors by using chemical irritants. They also likely violated the Fourth Amendment rights of observers who followed agents in vehicles, detaining them without reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal intent or activity.
Federal Troops
Meanwhile, in an action that will most certainly raise tensions in the state, the Trump administration is reportedly ready to deploy 1,500 soldiers to Minnesota to fulfill his promise to use the Insurrection Act to silence Walz and the protestors.
