U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an anti-insurrection law to deploy military forces in Minnesota, following days of protests against the influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the streets of Minneapolis.
Donald Trump mocked the Democratic leaders of the state and referred to members of the region's Somali community as "trash."
"If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota do not uphold the law and prevent professional agitators and insurgents from attacking the patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their jobs, I will invoke the INSURRECTION ACT," Donald Trump wrote on his Social Truth network.
The Insurrection Act, a law dating back to 1807, allows the president to deploy the military on U.S. soil in cases of uprisings to carry out law enforcement duties, such as arrests and searches, which they are generally not authorized to perform.
Donald Trump has already deployed nearly 3,000 federal agents in the Minneapolis area, who have patrolled the city's streets armed, dressed in military-style camouflage uniforms and masks concealing their faces.
These agents have often faced loud and frequently hostile demonstrations from residents, some of whom whistled or banged on tambourines.
Anger has intensified and protests have spread to other cities after an agent shot and killed Renee Good, an American citizen, on January 7 while she was behind the wheel of her car.
Donald Trump's threats come just hours after an immigration police officer shot and killed a Venezuelan who, according to authorities, was fleeing a traffic stop in Minneapolis.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the immigration crackdown ordered by Donald Trump, said that two people attacked the federal agent with a broomstick and a snow shovel as he struggled with the Venezuelan. The administration added that the latter was in the country illegally.
Reuters has not been able to verify these statements.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, the Insurrection Act has been used 30 times in U.S. history. The Supreme Court has ruled that the president alone can determine whether the conditions required by the law have been met.
The repressive measures ordered by Donald Trump in Minnesota have divided his supporters.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published Thursday, 59% of Republicans support a policy prioritizing arrests by immigration agents, even if people are injured, while 39% believe agents should focus on minimizing harm to individuals, even if it means fewer arrests.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, French version by Benjamin Mallet, edited by Sophie Louet)
