type: timeline_event
President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 in response to protests in Minneapolis against ICE operations following the killing of Renee Good. On Truth Social, Trump wrote that "In Minnesota, the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals," echoing authoritarian rhetoric that delegitimizes organic protest movements.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison immediately announced he would challenge any invocation in court. Legal scholars disputed that conditions permitting invocation of the Insurrection Act had occurred in Minneapolis, noting the protests remained largely peaceful despite the provocations of federal enforcement actions.
Trump backtracked from the threat the following day, but the episode demonstrated the administration's willingness to use military force against domestic dissent. The threat came amid Operation Metro Surge's ongoing presence in Minneapolis and followed Trump's pattern of threatening military deployment to cities led by Democrats.
The incident followed Trump's failed attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland in 2025, which was blocked by the Supreme Court in December 2025. The Court's 6-3 ruling prevented the administration from federalizing state National Guard units over governors' objections, but Trump pledged to return "in a much different and stronger form."