The Pentagon has placed about 1,500 active-duty troops on standby for a possible deployment to Minnesota, according to reports by several U.S. news outlets, with ABC News first reporting the order, which comes days after President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act following protests that erupted after the killing of Minneapolis woman Renee Good by an immigration agent, although the president later told reporters he did not believe there was “any reason right now to use it,” even as tensions remained high and federal authorities increased their presence in the state.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, told TIME in an emailed response that “The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief if called upon,” as reports indicated the troops on standby are from the 11th Airborne Division based in Alaska, a unit that specializes in Arctic warfare, while active-duty soldiers are legally barred from carrying out domestic law enforcement duties unless the Insurrection Act is invoked, a power last used in 1992 when President George H.W. Bush deployed troops to Los Angeles during riots following the acquittal of police officers filmed beating Rodney King.
The potential deployment would represent a sharp escalation in President Trump’s use of federal force in Democratic-led cities during his second term, a strategy that has also included federal prosecutions of Democratic officials and threats to withhold funding, even as local leaders insist federal troops are unnecessary, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey calling such a move a “shocking step” and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz urging restraint, saying, “I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” amid reports that the Department of Justice has launched criminal investigations into both officials, while ICE and Border Patrol agents already deployed to Minneapolis face accusations of excessive force and racial profiling, claims now at the center of a 72-page lawsuit filed by the ACLU alleging constitutional rights violations during largely peaceful protests.