Trump Threatens Insurrection Act After Another ICE Shooting

As Minneapolis officials called for calm, tensions flared almost immediately after heated protests erupted near the scene where a federal agent shot and injured a man in the leg during what the Department of Homeland Security described as a «targeted traffic stop». DHS sought to justify the shooting by claiming the man attempted to resist arrest and «violently assault» one of its officers, a version of events that was quickly met with skepticism and anger on the ground. 

Residents of Minneapolis rapidly gathered in the streets surrounding the scene, where multiple media outlets, including CNN, documented an increasingly volatile confrontation between protesters and federal agents. Video footage showed demonstrators setting off fireworks as federal officers responded with crowd-control measures, firing flash-bang grenades, tear gas canisters and pepper balls in an effort to disperse the crowd. The clash unfolded against an already charged backdrop of public outrage over recent ICE operations, underscoring how quickly routine law-enforcement explanations can give way to street-level unrest when trust between federal authorities and local communities has eroded.

On Truth Social, Trump posted: «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, 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,» a declaration aimed at state leaders as protests continued over federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. In the hours after that post, a video circulated online that purported to show the wife of a shooting victim on the phone with 911, tearfully telling operators that ICE agents shot her husband in the leg after allegedly chasing him in his car and attempting to ram his vehicle as he entered their home — she also appeared to express fear that agents might enter the house while a child cried in the background, a narrative sharply at odds with the federal account of the encounter. This footage and the public dissemination of competing accounts have fueled growing anger across Minnesota, where many residents have rejected the Trump administration’s version of events and accused ICE of lying and using excessive force against their communities, deepening mistrust and escalating protests.

Mayor Jacob Frey sought to strike a balance between supporting peaceful protest and urging restraint as tensions in Minneapolis continued to escalate, telling residents «For those who have peacefully protested, I applaud you. For those who are taking the bait, you are not helping, and you are not helping the undocumented immigrants of our city. You are not helping the people who call this place home», and acknowledging the strain the situation is placing on the city by adding «There’s still a lot that we don’t know at this time, but what I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable», a stark assessment of the mounting unrest that has followed repeated ICE-related shootings. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also urged calm, directly addressing the anger felt by many in the state: «I know you’re angry. I’m angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets,» he said, but he called on residents to reject escalation, asserting that «Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace. Don’t give him what he wants.»