Trump readies 1,500 troops set to go to Minnesota

The Pentagon has ordered 1,500 active-duty soldiers to be prepared to go to Minnesota if necessary, as anti-government protests are drawing thousands to the streets in the Twin Cities. The U.S. Army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case the protests escalate into violence and state security forces are overwhelmed. Officials did not give a timeline, but Donald Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces if officials in the state do not stop protesters from targeting immigration officials. The protests come after ICE agents killed two people in the span of ten days – an American woman in her car, and a Venezuelan man on the street. Neither victim was armed.

After half a year of poorly trained ICE agents using illegal, unconstitutional force, Americans have started pushing back against the Gestapo-esque behaviour of DHS agents, and Donald Trump appears ready to quell any signs of rebellion. The Insurrection Act, created in 1807, has been used less than two dozen times in the country's history. Donald Trump has threatened to use it four times since the start of his second term in 2025. The act allows the President to deploy military and National Guard troops to states in order to take action against any necessary emergency, whether that be ‘insurgents' or natural disasters.

Are the protests violent?

Unfortunately, there isn't a simple answer to this question. After months of conflict, ICE Agents in Minnesota are quick to anger and extremely aggressive. ICE Agents are attempting to conduct arrests during protests, and small protests are starting naturally across the state in response to violent DHS arrests. In the months of violent ICE arrests across America, the agency has seen little to no resistance as they take friends and neighbours off the streets. In Minnesota, the population has finally drawn the line, and Donald Trump is ready to send in the military in response. The last time Trump threatened to impose the Insurrection Act, he faced threats of lawsuits from every mayor that would have been impacted; he's weighing his options as 1,500 soldiers sit in waiting.

There was one example of potentially threatening protesters, but it was once again in response to the actions of others. On January 17, far-right influencer Jake Lang, an anti-Muslim, antisemitic, Christian nationalist who was pardoned by Trump for assaulting police officers during the January 6 riot in 2021, was chased away by protesters after attempting a pro-ICE demonstration. Lang advertised the protest on his social media and managed to attract five ICE sympathizers, but the group was chased away by a swarm of hundreds in a counterprotest. Lang and his gaggle were attacked with cold water and aerosol string, known colloquially as ‘silly string'.

Experts are warning Trump not to send more troops to Saint Paul and Minneapolis. With 3000 immigration and border patrol officers already in the Twin Cities, more troops would just exacerbate the protests, which have been largely peaceful. The statement from Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell is chilling, though, with Parnell stating that “The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander-in-chief if called upon.” Trump has already shown his desire to impose the Insurrection Act, and the Twin Cities may just be the excuse he is looking for, especially with polls being released showing that Americans are feeling uneasy with Trump's use of violence overseas. Trump will either have to rule with an iron fist as he's proposed, or back down to American voters.