Trump Threatens to Invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota
- - Trump Threatens to Invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota
Callum SutherlandJanuary 16, 2026 at 1:58 AM
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President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy troops, in Minnesota amid escalating clashes between federal agents and members of the community.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the patriots of ICE, who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the Insurrection Act,” Trump vowed in a Truth Social post on Thursday morning.
Trump argued that many Presidents have invoked the Act before him and said it would allow him to “quickly put an end to the travesty” that is taking place in the state.
The President’s threat landed hours after a judge decided not to issue a temporary restraining order after Minnesota and the Twin Cities filed a lawsuit against federal officials, citing excessive force being used by agents.
The situation in Minneapolis deteriorated once more on Wednesday night when an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during an attempted traffic stop. This came after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good last week in the same city.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the Wednesday incident unravelled when an “officer was being ambushed and attacked” by two individuals intervening in the attempted arrest of the Venezuelan man. “The original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick… Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life. The initial subject was hit in the leg,” the DHS stated.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey earlier this week urged Minnesotans not to “take the bait.” Frey argued that the vast majority of people have protested against ICE peacefully and inferred that Trump wants “agitators” to get a hold of the crowd and spark chaos.
What is the Insurrection Act?
The act gives the President authority “to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Instituting the act gives Congress the ability “to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.”
It is the legal exemption to The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which “removed the military from regular civil law enforcement” after the use of the military in response to civil unrest was abused during the Civil War and subsequent Reconstruction era.
Victor J. Blue—Getty Images" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/vf_Js9VzDYgArFA_1rcclA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_time_773/0eaa4058240ce0e8b106eed3f9effa91>Victor J. Blue—Getty Images" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/vf_Js9VzDYgArFA_1rcclA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_time_773/0eaa4058240ce0e8b106eed3f9effa91 class=caas-img>Federal law enforcement officers are seen during confrontations with residents following a shooting incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, early on Jan. 15, 2026.Victor J. Blue—Getty ImagesWhen Was the Insurrection Act Last Invoked and How Many U.S. Presidents Have Used It?
The Insurrection Act was most recently used by President George H.W. Bush in May 1992. He deployed the national guard to Los Angeles in response to riots prompted by the acquittal of white police officers who were charged with assaulting Rodney King, an unarmed Black man.
The act has been used in response to 30 crises since the Calling Forth Act of 1792, which paved the way for the Insurrection Act passed in 1807. In total, 17 of the country's 45 President's have officially invoked it.
President Abraham Lincoln notably invoked the Act in 1861, in response to the secession of seven southern states at the outbreak of what is now known as the Civil War.
President Ulysses S. Grant invoked the19th-century law a record six times, starting in 1871, in an effort to combat the destructive actions of the Ku Klux Klan during the Reconstruction era.
Has Trump previously threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act?
Trump has floated invoking the Insurrection Act on multiple occasions, but has thus far never followed through on the threat.
In June last year, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles to quell protests held in response to raids conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom lambasted Trump for deploying troops without the request or approval of the city's leadership, calling the move “purposefully inflammatory.” When Newsom sued Trump in an attempt to block the use of military forces, Trump alluded to using the Insurrection Act.
The President made the threat once again in October, when a number of Democratic cities launched legal fights against Trump's unwelcome deployment of National Guard troops.
And the 19th century law was also mentioned during Trump's first term.
In 2020, the Governors of several states called for the assistance of National Guard troops to help quell the protests that erupted in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, who died at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. At the height of the unrest, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act should the protests fail to come to a halt.
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
