With the tension from the deployment of (ICE) men to have hit red, as it has already cost the lives of two citizens and brought the detention of even minor children, the American president appears to be under increasing pressure, but also given the cases they are taking.
Two court cases begin today over the events in Minneapolis
More specifically, two federal judges will today hear two cases related to the deployment of ICE men in Minneapolis.
The first concerns the legality of their deployment, in light of the two murders of citizens and according to what has become known, the lawyers representing both the Authorities of Minneapolis and Minnesota will argue that the presence of approximately 3000 federal agents in the state is in violation of the right of sovereignty of the states according to the US Constitution.
Another judge will also hear a lawsuit against the agents, alleging that federal agents obstructed local law enforcement’s investigation into the death of Alex Pretty.
Half a step behind Trump, without stopping the challenges
In this context, Trump earlier today appeared for the first time to take a half step back from his original position, without, of course, stopping to provoke. According to what he said to a related question in a mini-phone interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal about the killing of Pretty, and if the agent who opened fire acted according to the instructions he had given, he replied: “We’re looking into it, we’re reviewing everything and we’ll come to a conclusion.”
According to what Trump said in an attempt to justify the action of the ICE agent: “I don’t like shootings at all. I don’t like this. But I also don’t like it when someone goes to a protest with a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines full of bullets. That doesn’t play well either.”
Videos recorded by witnesses show the 37-year-old nurse was holding a cellphone and not a gun when he was shot, contradicting initial claims by government officials that he threatened the agents.
In the interview, Trump also hinted that at some point in the future he would withdraw ICE agents from Minneapolis, though he did not provide a timeline. He mentioned that “at some point we will leave. They have done a fantastic job.” As he argued “then we will leave another class of people there for the financial fraud”.
He sends the “border czar” to Minnesota
However, at the same time as the half step back he appeared to take, Trump announced that he is sending his “border czar”, Tom Homan, to Minnesota.
In a post on Truth Social Monday morning, Trump said Homan will be moving to the state immediately and will report directly to him. “I’m sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He had no involvement in the area until now, but he knows and appreciates many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me,” she wrote.
It continues to challenge
In the same post, Trump made unsubstantiated claims about the protests in Minneapolis, saying “a massive welfare fraud, over $20 billion,” was partly responsible for the “violent organized protests in the streets.”
In addition, he claimed that the Justice Department and Congress are investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar, writing that she “left Somalia with nothing and now reportedly has a fortune of over $44 million.”
Omar has rejected these claims, saying she is “not a millionaire” and that it is a “coordinated far-right disinformation campaign”.
