Trump threatens to use military over Minnesota anti-ICE protests

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday (Jan 15) to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces in Minnesota after days of angry protests over a surge in immigration agents on the streets of Minneapolis.

Confrontations between residents and federal officers have become increasingly tense after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a US citizen, Renee Good, in a car eight days ago in Minneapolis, and the protests have spread to other cities. Trump's latest threat came a few hours after an immigration officer shot a Venezuelan man the government said was fleeing after agents tried to stop his vehicle in Minneapolis.

"If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE, who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT," Trump wrote on social media.

Trump, a Republican, has for weeks derided the state's Democratic leaders and called the Somali community in the area "garbage" who should be "thrown out" of the country.

He has already sent nearly 3,000 federal officers into the Minneapolis area, who have carried guns through the city's icy streets, wearing military-style camouflage gear and masks that hide their faces.

They have been met frequently by loud, often angry protests by residents, some blowing whistles or banging tambourines.

The agents have arrested both immigrants and protesters, at times smashing windows and pulling people from their cars, and have been shouted at for several episodes where they have stopped Black and Latino US citizens and demanded identification.