About 1,500 soldiers on active duty have been placed on standby For possible publication in MinneapolisA defense official confirmed to CBS News, as tensions rise in the city after a woman was fatally shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
The official said the deployment of the soldiers, from the 11th Airborne Division to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, is one of the options the Army is planning should President Trump decide to use active-duty military personnel to respond to the ongoing demonstrations. No decision has been made regarding the deployment of soldiers.
In response to a question about the preparations, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: “The War Department is always ready to carry out the orders of the commander in chief if asked to do so.”
ABC News was the first to report that the soldiers were on standby.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also mobilized the state’s National Guard on Saturday, although Guard members have not yet been deployed to city streets, CBS News Minnesota reported. He issued a waltz Warning order Earlier this month to prepare Guard members for mobilization, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was shot and killed Rene is good It is January 7th.
“We are doing the work to keep people safe in our city, specifically, our local police officers, the state of Minnesota and our governor,” he added. Mayor Jacob Frey said On “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday. “We are doing our best to maintain peace, despite the occupying force that has literally invaded our city.”
In addition to the recent increase in the number of immigration agents, Mr. Trump on Thursday He threatened To summon Insurrection lawA law dating back to the 1790s allowed him to send federal troops to Minneapolis. The president said he would resort to the law if Minnesota politicians “don’t abide by the law and prevent professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the patriots at ICE, who are just trying to do their job.”
The move could catalyze a major escalation in tensions between Minnesota officials and the federal government, which have already occurred He sent thousands of federal law enforcement agents to the state in recent weeks as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
Mr. Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act before, during his first term and previously during his current term, but has never actually used it.
The Minneapolis Police Department said Saturday that protesters remained peaceful and lawful in the presence of federal immigration agents, CBS Minnesota reported.
“Today, when crowds blocked roads and vehicles were used to block roads, the city police department deployed resources and made public announcements for people to move to the sidewalk or out of the area. This happened multiple times. Overall, crowds responded to those directives,” the department said in a statement, urging community members participating in the protests to continue demonstrating peacefully.