President Donald Trump escalated his threats against Minnesota by warning that ongoing protests against his violent crackdown on immigration would compel him to send in active-duty military troops.
Protests have raged in Minneapolis since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old motorist Renee Good near a raid, and the administration surged nearly 2,000 federal agents into the city, where videos have recorded them violently detaining migrants, demonstrators and passersby.
"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," Trump posted Thursday morning, "I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State. Thank you for you attention to this matter! President DJT."
The Insurrection Act is a statutory exception the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the president's authority to deploy the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement purposes, and Trump has toyed with invoking those powers throughout his first and second terms – but his recent statement set off new alarms.
"This is where it is going. This is what Stephen Miller is pushing to Trump," posted Michigan policy professor Don Moynihan. "The only reason it has not happened yet is that the violence is obviously coming from state actors. There is no insurrection to control. But we are one incident away from Trump sending in the military."
"Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota though it’s not clear how that would change anything on the ground," said Gizmodo's Matt Novak. "He’s already deployed thousands of masked men to terrorize the community. I guess if he used the military those troops would be wearing fewer masks?"
"He’s losing, and he knows it," replied Bluesky user Scott (Rot26). "It’s really hard to imagine how you could justify the insurrection act when federal agents are throwing flash bangs into random cars with kids in them, shooting people in the face, while protesters are blowing whistles and calling you names."
"Use of the Insurrection Act against protesters was in project 2025 btw for those that will be acting surprised today," noted Bluesky user E-Conomy.
"Trump's going to have Walz and Frey arrested," predicted The Rude Pundit, referring to Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey. "You know he's itching to hurt Walz after he defined Trump's weirdness so well. Trump's ego can't let that stand. We live under the will of dying motherf----- who doesn't give a damn about the future because it doesn't include him."
"So Trump is threatening the Insurrection act to send troops to Minneapolis to put down the protesters while at the same time encouraging Iranians to keep protesting in the face of execution," pondered Bluesky user catbert529. "This hurts my head."
"This is what they’ve wanted all along. This is the goal," lamented journalist Radley Balko.
"Now he wants to use the Insurrection Act," replied Bluesky user The Rest of Us Party. "He [sat] around for hours while the Capital was attacked. Why? Because he was waiting to see if MAGA that day. it was a power grab then and it is now."
"The march toward authoritarianism continues," sighed pundit David Rothkopf.
"This is so dangerous!" warned Blueskey user Christopher Webb. "Trump is threatening to deploy the Insurrection Act because people are mad at ICE. He calls protesters insurrectionists after leading an actual insurrection himself."
"You’re scared. I get it. Me, too," added Minneapolis teacher Annie Perkins. "The insurrection act feels like a rubicon. I am telling you, with love in my heart: Minneapolis IS being peaceful and it doesn’t matter. He’ll call it when he wants to. We can’t stop it. We CAN and ARE organizing the hell out of our communities. We protect us."