The Pentagon has directed approximately 1,500 active-duty soldiers to ready themselves for a potential deployment to Minnesota, where significant protests against the government’s deportation efforts have been ongoing, as reported by U.S. media sources on Sunday. These soldiers have been placed on standby orders in case the situation in the northern state escalates into violence, according to information from unnamed defense officials cited by the Washington Post. It remains uncertain whether any of these troops will be dispatched.
In response, the White House stated to the Post that it is standard practice for the Pentagon to be prepared for any decision that the President may or may not make. Both the Pentagon and the White House did not provide immediate comments in response to requests from Reuters.
President Donald Trump issued a threat on Thursday to utilize the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces if officials in Minnesota fail to prevent protesters from targeting immigration officials following an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities. Trump’s message on his Truth Social platform warned that if Minnesota’s politicians do not act against agitators and insurrectionists attacking ICE agents, he would implement the INSURRECTION ACT.
The soldiers potentially subject to deployment possess expertise in cold-weather operations and belong to two U.S. army infantry battalions under the 11th Airborne Division, based in Alaska, as reported by the Post and ABC News. Tensions have escalated between residents and federal officers in Minneapolis, the most populous city in Minnesota, particularly after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, on January 7 while she was driving away after being instructed to exit her vehicle.
President Trump, a Republican, has dispatched nearly 3,000 federal agents from ICE and U.S. Border Patrol to Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul in recent days, as part of a series of interventions primarily targeting cities governed by Democrats. He has justified troop deployments in various cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Memphis, and Portland, Oregon, as necessary to combat crime and safeguard federal assets and personnel from protesters. However, the President announced the withdrawal of the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland this month, citing legal challenges faced by the administration in these locations.
Local leaders have criticized Trump for what they perceive as federal overreach and for exaggerating sporadic incidents of violence to justify military interventions. Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, who is under a criminal investigation by the Justice Department, has mobilized the state’s National Guard to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies, as communicated by the state’s Department of Public Safety on a social media platform.
Trump has frequently mentioned a scandal involving the misappropriation of federal funds meant for social welfare programs in Minnesota as a rationale for deploying immigration agents to the state, particularly targeting the Somali immigrant community. The Insurrection Act is a federal law that grants the President the authority to deploy the military or federalize National Guard troops within the U.S. to suppress domestic uprisings. This law can be invoked when there are unlawful obstructions, combinations, rebellions, or assemblies against federal authority, allowing the President to use armed forces to enforce laws and quell rebellion.
