The US Department of Defense has ordered 1,500 troops to prepare for a possible deployment in the state of Minnesota, where protests against the intervention of federal immigration authorities have broken out. Citing a source from the administration of President Donald Trump, CNN reported on this on Sunday, writes TASR.
In short:
- The Pentagon has prepared 1,500 troops for possible deployment in Minnesota
- The protests broke out after the death of a woman in the intervention of an immigration agent
- President Trump has threatened to use the Sedition Act
In response to the large-scale demonstrations on Thursday, Trump initially threatened to invoke the Insurgency Act, which allows the military to be deployed to quell an armed uprising or rebellion. A day later, however, he declared that it was not immediately necessary.
Historical application of the law
US presidents have used their powers under the Sedition Act more than 20 times in the past. The last time President George HW Bush did so was in 1992 to stop riots in Los Angeles. In this case, however, the state authorities asked for help.
ABC News was the first to report on plans to send troops to Minnesota. Citing two unnamed Pentagon officials, it said 1,500 paratroopers based in Alaska had been put on alert. However, Trump has not yet made a final decision on their eventual deployment, and an administration source also cautioned that deployment is not necessarily certain.
The incident that sparked protests
Protests erupted in Minneapolis, Minnesota’s largest city, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old American Renee Nicole Macklin Good last Wednesday. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he was acting in self-defense and the woman was trying to hit him with her car. But that claim is disputed by videos from the crime scene, which show Good’s vehicle evading the agent.
On Friday, federal judge Katherine Menendez issued an order ordering immigration officials to tone down their aggressive practices and refrain from arresting peaceful protesters. In addition, they should stop using tear gas against them.
Condemnation of interventions in Minneapolis
On Sunday, Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized the immigration crackdown, which has about 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents deployed in the city. According to him, it is an “occupational force that literally invaded” Minneapolis. In an interview with CBS News, he also expressed concern about reports that 1,500 soldiers were about to join the agents.
“This is not about safety. It’s about thousands of people coming into our city and terrorizing others just because they’re Latino or Somali, and yes, people in Minneapolis are speaking up,” Frey said, according to AFP.
According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the crackdown will continue until the Trump administration is confident that “all dangerous people have been arrested, brought to justice and then deported back to their home countries.”
