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The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, where protests have intensified over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign, according to two U.S. officials.
The U.S. Army placed the troops on prepare-to-deploy status in case violence escalates in the Midwestern state, the officials said, though no final decision has been made on whether the forces will be sent.
The move follows President Donald Trump’s warning last week that he could invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials fail to stop protesters from targeting federal immigration officers amid a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.
Tensions have risen in Minneapolis since Jan. 7, when Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot while sitting in her car by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. The incident sparked protests that have at times led to confrontations between demonstrators and federal agents.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Sunday that deploying troops would worsen the situation in the state’s largest city, where the administration has already sent about 3,000 ICE and U.S. Border Patrol agents.
“That would be a shocking step,” Frey said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We don’t need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe.”
If troops are deployed, it remains unclear whether President Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to use the military or federalize National Guard troops during domestic unrest. Even without invoking the law, presidents can deploy active-duty forces for limited domestic missions, such as protecting federal property.
The soldiers placed on alert are assigned to two infantry battalions under the 11th Airborne Division, based in Alaska, and specialize in cold-weather operations, the officials said. The order was first reported by ABC News.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has accused the administration of federal overreach and has mobilized the state’s National Guard to support local law enforcement while protecting the right to peaceful protest.
President Trump has defended similar federal deployments in other cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., arguing they are needed to fight crime and protect federal personnel. He has since withdrawn some National Guard forces from several of those cities.