Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act to end protests in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

Thursday’s threat comes a day after an immigration officer shot and wounded a man. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that radiated across the city since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good. 

Trump repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

"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 said on social media. 

Presidents invoked the Insurrection Act more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities asked for the assistance.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded to Trump's post by saying he would challenge any deployment in court. He already sued to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says it made more than 2,500 arrests in the state since early December. ICE is a DHS agency.

Demonstrations

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Ross killed Good on Jan. 7. 

"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.

Minnesota, Twin Cities sue the federal government to stop ICE crackdown

Frey said the federal force — five times the size of the city's 600-officer police force — "invaded" Minneapolis, and that residents are scared and angry.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens.

The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

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Another shooting 

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers stopped a driver from Venezuela on Wednesday who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, DHS claimed.

The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles from where Good was killed.

Police chief Brian O'Hara said the shot man was being treated for a non-life-threatening injury. The two others are in custody, DHS said. O'Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security.

Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota said what's happening in the state "defies belief."

"Let's be very, very clear: this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government."

ICE agent

A Homeland Security official claimed Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered "internal bleeding" to his torso during the encounter.

The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss Ross' medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the bleeding, how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.

Ross killed Good after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street near her home. Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that is criticized by Minnesota officials.

Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment.

Good's family hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd's family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground 2020.

Anti-ICE nationwide protests in photos