Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act and send troops into Minneapolis
The President made the threat as protests against ICE continue in the city
Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act allowing him to deploy troops as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations continue in Minneapolis.
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The US president made the threat after a federal officer shot a man in the leg in the city on Wednesday after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle.
The incident further heightened the sense of fear and anger across the city a week after an immigration agent fatally shot a woman.
Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the US military or federalise the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
"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, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State," he wrote on social media.
In Minneapolis, smoke filled the street on Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd while protesters threw rocks and shot fireworks. Police Chief Brian O'Hara said during a news conference that the gathering was an unlawful assembly and "people need to leave".
Things later quieted down at the scene, and by early Thursday fewer demonstrators and law enforcement officers were there.
Such protest scenes have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since a federal agent shot Renee Good on January 7 amid a massive immigration crackdown that has seen thousands of officers sent into the Twin Cities.
Agents have pulled people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders demanding that officers pack up and leave.
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey described the situation as not "sustainable".
"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 neighbours, to maintain order," he said.
He described a federal force that is five times as big as the city's 600-officer police force and has "invaded" the city, scaring and angering residents, some of whom want the officers to "fight ICE agents". At the same time, the police force is still responsible for their day-to-day work to keep the public safe.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state of Minnesota since early December and is vowing to not back down.
In a statement describing events on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said federal law enforcement officers stopped a person from Venezuela who was in the US 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," the department said.
The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it added.
Mr O'Hara said the man who was shot was in hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
The shooting took place about 4.5 miles north of where Ms Good was killed. Mr O'Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of DHS.
Earlier on Wednesday, a judge gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
"What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state assistant attorney general Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. US District Judge Katherine Menendez gave the Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
Justice Department lawyer Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Judge Menendez was appropriate.
Read More: Clashes erupt between federal officers and protesters in Minneapolis after woman killed by ICE
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by ICE and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
During a televised speech before Wednesday's shooting, Minnesota governor Tim Walz described the state as being in chaos, saying what is happening in the state "defies belief".
"Let's be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it's a campaign of organised brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government."