The president plans to use federal law to deploy troops to Minneapolis, where protests continue after two shootings by federal agents in a week.
Published on January 15, 2026
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke a rarely used federal law to deploy the military in the state of Minnesota, where the city of Minneapolis has been rocked by protests against two shootings in a week related to his immigration crackdown.
“If Minnesota’s corrupt politicians don’t follow the law and stop professional protesters and rebels from attacking ICE’s patriots who are just trying to do their job, I will institute the Sedition Act, which many presidents have done before me, and quickly end what is a travesty,” Trump wrote on social media on Thursday, and the Customs Enforcement Agency.
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Trump posted the comments a day after federal agents A Venezuelan man was shot and wounded in Minneapolis. A federal agent said two men attacked him with shovels and broom handles as he wrestled with Venezuelans, who the Trump administration said were in the U.S. illegally.
Deadly shooting
The incident added to the tension a week after the death of an ICE agent 37-year-old Renee Good was shotA US citizen, in her car in Minneapolis. The mother-of-three’s killing and the Trump administration’s portrayal of her as a “domestic terrorist” sparked global outrage, leading to protests across the US.
Federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into the small crowd while protesters threw rocks and set off fireworks.
US presidents have repeatedly threatened to use the Sedition Act to deploy the US military over the objections of state governors or to federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the situation as “unsustainable.”
“It’s an impossible situation that our city is in right now, and at the same time, we’re trying to find ways to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” he said.
Frey described the federal force, five times larger than the city’s 600-officer police force, as having “invaded” the city, frightening and angering residents, some of whom want local officials to “fight ICE agents.”
At the same time, the police force is still responsible for their day-to-day work for public safety.
Thousands arrested
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it had made more than 2,000 arrests in Minnesota since early December and vowed not to back down.
DHS accused Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, both Democrats, of encouraging resistance to ICE with “hateful rhetoric,” a contention Frey denied.
Disputing allegations of misconduct, DHS has said its agents are increasingly being attacked while trying to track down and detain immigration violators.
Speaking at a news conference alongside Frey, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara called for the crowd, which he described as “engaged in illegal activities” near the shooting scenes, to disperse.
“We don’t need to escalate this any further,” O’Hara said.