Photo: Getty Images
President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act against Minnesota amid ongoing ICE protests.
"If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State. Thank you for you attention to this matter! President DJT," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
Trump's post was shared hours after a Venezuelan national was shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs officer in Minneapolis Wednesday (January 14) night, one week after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in the same city. The Venezuelan national was reportedly hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries, the City of Minneapolis confirmed in a social media post.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that the officer, who was also taken to the hospital for injuries, was "ambushed" and acted in self-defense when they shot the person "in the leg."
"While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle," the agency wrote on its X account. "As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick.
"Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life. The initial subject was hit in the leg. All three subjects ran back into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside. The attacked officer and subject are both in the hospital. Both attackers are in custody."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed the Venezuelan national was "shot in the leg by an ICE agent" and added, "No matter what led up to this incident, the situation we are seeing in our city is not sustainable."
"There’s 600 MPD officers working to keep our streets safe. Meanwhile, they’ve sent in 3,000 federal agents. America, this is not the path we can be on," Frey added in additional X posts. "I have seen conduct from ICE that is intolerable. And for anyone taking the bait tonight, stop. It is not helpful. We cannot respond to Donald Trump’s chaos with our own chaos."
Numerous protests have been held in Minnesota since the fatal shooting of Good by an ICE agent on January 7, while state authorities have joined Illinois in suing the Trump administration for its surge of ICE personnel within their states. Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem confirmed to FOX News that "hundreds more" federal officers would be sent to Minnesota on Sunday (January 12).
Good was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs officer on January 7 and the shooting has been widely politicized as Democrats and Republicans argue over the cause. A video shared online, which appears to have been recorded on a cellphone belonging to Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who fatally shot Good, shows her in the driver's seat of her SUV on a suburban street talking to ICE officers while her wife stands outside the vehicle before Ross fires multiple rounds into the SUV just after it starts to move.
Democrat members of Congress and local Minneapolis leaders and residents have condemned the actions of the ICE officer while Trump, Vice President JD Vance, the Department of Homeland Security and numerous conservative pundits have defended the officer.
Frey previously said "tens of thousands of people" attended what he described as a peaceful march, but Noem claimed the operation in the state would now shift from its sole focus of immigration law breaches to also tackling anti-ICE protests.
“We’re going to continue to if they conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that’s a crime, and we will hold them accountable to those consequences,” she said via FOX News.