More than 1,000 active-duty SOLDIERS set to be deployed in out-of-control Minnesota as Trump prepares to bring the hammer down
President Trump moved to place more than 1,500 Army paratroopers on standby as chaotic anti-ICE protests sweep Minnesota.
It was reported that the White House asked federal troops to be ready after violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in Minneapolis.
Defense officials announce plans ABC News On Saturday, active-duty soldiers will be deployed from the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division, he said.
The base is reportedly one of the Army’s premier infantry units positioned to help deter China, but Trump is preparing to divert resources to quell protests that erupted in Minneapolis over the Jan. 7 shooting of ICE resident Renee Good.
Officials reportedly said Trump had not yet decided whether the troops would be deployed.
“We are taking cautious steps to prepare active-duty Army forces,” an official said. ‘This doesn’t mean they will be deployed; ‘We are preparing the options.’
The potential military deployment comes as protests in Minneapolis have resembled war zones in recent days, with tear gas and violent clashes on the city’s streets.
The FBI also reportedly asked U.S. agents to go to Minneapolis for temporary duty. Bloomberg.
President Trump moves to put more than 1,500 Army paratroopers on standby as chaotic anti-ICE protests sweep Minnesota
Insider information revealed that approximately 1,500 soldiers are being prepared in Alaska to be sent to Minneapolis
The move to crush the protests came after FBI Director Kash Patel vowed on social media that his office would “put pressure on” “violent rioters” in Minneapolis.
“This team is working here 24/7, cracking down on violent insurgents and investigating funding networks supporting criminal actors for which there have already been multiple arrests,” he wrote.
It remains unclear which agents volunteering for temporary transfer will be assigned to while on duty in Minneapolis.
On Thursday, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy US military forces to Minnesota.
The 1807 law gives the president legal authority to send troops into American territory to suppress civil disobedience. It was first used by Thomas Jefferson to address a conspiracy to create a separate nation in the American West.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota do not obey the law and stop professional agitators and rioters from attacking ICE Patriots who are just trying to do their job, I will start an INVOLVED MOVEMENT.”
‘Many Presidents before me have done this and quickly put an end to the disgrace that was befalling our once great State,’ he added.
This comes after a District Court Judge ordered ICE not to retaliate against protesters who took to the streets following the killing of Renee Good.
Judge Kate Menedez, a Biden appointee, ruled that ICE agents cannot detain or arrest tear gas protesters or people observing agents.
The decision comes after Good was shot at ICE earlier this month, sparking a nationwide debate about using lethal force against anti-ICE protesters.
Good was shot three times in the face in his car while he and his wife were allegedly acting as legal witnesses to ongoing protests against ICE, and the order prohibits ICE officers from detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion that they were obstructing or interfering with the vehicles.
The decision stated that the agents’ “safe pursuit from an appropriate distance did not, by itself, create a reasonable suspicion that would justify stopping the vehicle.”
The potential military deployment comes as protests in Minneapolis in recent days (seen on January 15, 2026) have resembled war zones, with tear gas and violent clashes on the city’s streets.
A protester was seen being hit with pepper spray and gas on the streets of Minneapolis on January 14, 2026
Protests began after Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on January 7.
The violent clashes led a District Court Judge to order ICE not to retaliate against protesters who took to the streets this week.
Army troops were reportedly on hand as President Trump cracked down on protests in Minneapolis. Image: Minnesota Army National Guard soldiers in Minneapolis on January 17, 2026
Menendez said agents will not be allowed to arrest people without probable cause or reasonable suspicion that the person has committed a crime or is obstructing or interfering with the activities of officers.
At the same time, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz reportedly mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to support the state patrol. CNN.
The Minnesota State Guard has not yet been deployed but is under Walz’s orders to support state law enforcement.
ICE has been at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on immigrants over the past year; because the Republican president sent police officers to US cities led by Democrats to speed up deportations.
The agency faced particular scrutiny last week after an ICE officer in Minneapolis fatally shot Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three.
