Trump Threatens Insurrection Act in Response to ICE Protests

President Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to protests in Minneapolis over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

The Details: On Truth Social, Trump wrote, "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." It follows a night of protests and vandalism in Minneapolis after a second ICE-involved shooting where agents shot an unauthorized immigrant from Venezuela in the leg. During the incident, an ICE agent was attacked by two individuals in a nearby apartment building. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded telling Trump to "stop this campaign of retribution," while also telling Minnesotans to end the violence.

For Context: Created in 1807, The Insurrection Act allows presidents to deploy the US military or federalize members of the state National Guard to quell unrest and obstruction of federal law. It has been used 30 times; the last time being in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush during protests over Rodney King. According to The Hill (Center bias), the Act is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which limits the federal government's interference in state law enforcement. Trump has previously said he'd invoke the Act, including during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

How the Media Covered It: Both Fox News (Right) and Washington Times (Lean Right) characterized the threat as a response to ongoing violence and emphasized the Trump administration's accusations of Democrats stoking violence. Fox News quoted White House press secretary Karolina Leavitt saying Democrats have "demeaned" ICE agents and that protestors don't do this "without encouragement from people in power." Washington Times noted calls from other Minnesota leaders to track and record ICE officers' "atrocities" and share stories of business closures and rights violations by ICE agents. Outlets on the left and center detailed times when the Insurrection Act was previously invoked, noting it is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act. NPR (Lean Left) and Washington Post (Lean Left) emphasized the protests as a response to ICE-related violence, with The Post heavily detailing Wednesday night's shooting and the death of Renee Good. NPR quoted lawmakers who said they would take legal action if the Act was invoked.

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