Around 1,500 soldiers on standby for deployment to Minneapolis, reports say

The soldiers are awaiting possible deployment to Minneapolis, a US defense official told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

The official said the 1,500 troops currently in Alaska are an option for the US president should he decide to use active-duty military personnel, as anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests continued in the city on Saturday.

No decision has yet been made on whether to deploy the Alaskan troops, the official said.

Minnesota officials urged protesters to remain orderly and peaceful during demonstrations after an ICE agent fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Good earlier this month.

The soldiers are part of the 11th Airborne Division at Fort Wainwright, the official added.

It comes as a US federal judge issued an order limiting crowd control tactics ICE agents can use against “peaceful and non-obstructive” protesters in Minneapolis.

Judge Katherine Menendez ruled earlier that federal agents cannot arrest or pepper-spray peaceful protests, including those monitoring or observing ICE agents.

The state’s National Guard was mobilized and put on alert by Gov. Tim Walz, and other law enforcement officers were deployed to Minneapolis ahead of the anti-ICE protests.

The recent protests in the city were sparked by widespread ICE action in the city and followed Good’s death on January 7.

City leaders said Good was there as a legal observer of ICE activity.

But the Trump administration called her a “domestic terrorist.”

Good’s death sparked protests across the country, with many people holding signs reading “Justice for Renee.”