Trump Threatens Insurrection Act After 2nd Federal Shooting In Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — President Donald Trump further escalated his response to civil unrest in Minneapolis on Thursday morning, threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act after a second shooting involving a federal officer in the city in a week.

Wednesday's shooting comes after Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer while behind the wheel of a vehicle on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.

In a post on social media, Trump accused Minnesota officials of failing to control protests and warned that he would deploy federal authority if what he described as “professional agitators and insurrectionists” continued to confront Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

“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,” Trump wrote.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

Trump said the move would “quickly put an end to the travesty” unfolding in the state.

His federal enforcement surge has already brought roughly 3,000 ICE agents into the state, according to the administration.

Trump's post came after a federal law enforcement officer shot a man in the leg Wednesday night in Minneapolis in what officials say was self-defense.

In a statement describing the events that led to Wednesday's shooting, Homeland Security said federal law enforcement officers stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before taking off on foot, DHS said.

After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment, and all three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.

The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it said.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man shot was in the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.

The shooting took place about 4.5 miles north of where Good was killed. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security.

Smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

O’Hara said during a news conference that the gathering was an unlawful assembly and “people need to leave.”

Things later quieted down, and by early Thursday only a few demonstrators and law enforcement officers remained at the scene.

Demonstrations have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since the ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Good on Jan. 7. Agents have yanked people from their cars and homes, and have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding that the officers pack up and leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Jacob Frey, the mayor, said.

Frey said the federal force — five times the size of the city’s 600-officer police force — has “invaded” Minneapolis, scaring and angering residents.