Army orders military police to get ready for a possible Minneapolis deployment, AP source says
WASHINGTON– The U.S. military has ordered several dozen additional active-duty troops to prepare for possible deployment to Minneapolis if necessary, a defense official said Wednesday, amid protests over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive projects, confirmed that members of an Army military police brigade stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina had received orders to prepare for deployment.
If deployed, the troops would likely provide support to civilian authorities in Minneapolis, according to the official, who stressed that such standby orders are issued regularly and do not necessarily mean the troops will eventually leave.
About 1,500 active-duty troops from the Army’s Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division also received similar standby orders. President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that would allow him to use active duty troops to enforce the law.
The threat followed protests that erupted in Minneapolis after a federal immigration agent killed resident Renee Good on January 7. Trump quickly appeared to walk back his threat, telling reporters a day later that there was no reason to use the law “at this time.”
“If I needed it, I would use it,” Trump said. “It’s very powerful.”
Asked about the latest orders, reported earlier by MS Now, the Pentagon said it had no information to provide at this time.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and frequent Trump target, urged the president to refrain from sending more troops and, in a statement released Tuesday, invited him to visit Minnesota to “help restore calm and order and reaffirm that true public safety comes from shared purpose, trust and respect.”
During his second term, Trump pushed traditional boundaries by using troops in American cities, often over the objections of local officials, in federal operations targeting illegal immigration and crime.
Trump deployed federalized National Guard troops to Los Angeles last June after protesters took to the streets in response to a series of immigration arrests. Ultimately, he sent about 4,000 Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines to guard federal buildings and, later, to protect federal agents as they made immigration-related arrests.
He also mobilized Guard troops in places like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, but faced a series of legal setbacks. Trump said in December that he was abandoning the initiative for now.
