Tensions in Minnesota have reached a boiling point, with former President Donald Trump threatening to deploy a powerful federal law against protestors demonstrating against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. The threat comes amid ongoing unrest in Minneapolis, just one week after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a woman.
Trump's Social Media Ultimatum and Governor's Plea for Peace
On Thursday morning, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to issue a stark warning. He stated he would invoke the Insurrection Act to "quickly put an end to the travesty" in Minnesota if the state's "corrupt politicians" did not stop what he called "professional agitators and insurrectionists" from attacking ICE personnel.
This incendiary post came as Minnesota's Democratic Governor, Tim Walz, made a public appeal for calm. Overnight, Walz urged people in Minneapolis to protest peacefully following reports that a federal officer had shot a man in the leg during an enforcement operation in north Minneapolis on Wednesday evening.
"I know you’re angry. I’m angry," Walz wrote on X. "What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets. But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace. Don’t give him what he wants."
A State on Edge: Escalating Tensions and Conflicting Accounts
The latest shooting incident, which authorities say involved a Venezuelan national during a traffic stop, has further inflamed a community already reeling from the death of Renee Nicole Good. Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent exactly one week prior, an event that has sparked sustained demonstrations.
The Department of Homeland Security claims the man shot on Wednesday resisted and attacked an officer, prompting a "defensive shot." This account has not been independently verified. The Minneapolis authorities confirmed the victim was hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.
Governor Walz has delivered scathing criticism of the federal presence in his state, alleging that between 2,000 and 3,000 armed federal agents are operating across Minnesota. He described them as "armed," "masked," and "undertrained," accusing them of indiscriminate stops, door-to-door questioning, and detaining people without due process.
"This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," Walz asserted. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government." He directly called on Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "end this occupation."
Political Fallout and the Path Forward
The crisis has triggered significant political repercussions. Reports indicate that multiple federal prosecutors in Minnesota and Washington D.C. have resigned over the Trump administration's handling of the investigation into Renee Good's death. Specifically, six attorneys from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota reportedly quit on Tuesday over the Justice Department's reluctance to probe the involved ICE agent.
As protests continue, the rhetoric from national and state leaders grows increasingly divergent. While Trump frames the response as a matter of law and order, Governor Walz is framing it as an overreach of federal power and a test of the state's values. He has implored Minnesotans to channel their fury into peaceful, powerful protest, emphasising the fight must continue "in the courts and at the ballot box."
The situation remains volatile, with the threat of the Insurrection Act—a law that allows the president to deploy the military domestically—hanging over the state, setting the stage for a profound constitutional and political clash.
