President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act on Thursday to quell protests in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent a week prior. The threat, posted on Truth Social, came after further unrest Wednesday evening when ICE agents in Minneapolis shot a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg during an attempted arrest.

Trump stated that if Minnesota politicians did not "obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E.," he would invoke the Insurrection Act. He added that many presidents had done so before.

The Insurrection Act is a U.S. federal law, first enacted in 1807, that empowers the President to deploy U.S. military troops on American soil to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion. It is codified in Title 10, Sections 251-255 of the U.S. Code. The act allows the President to use the military to enforce federal laws when state authorities are unable or unwilling to do so.

Historically, the Insurrection Act has been invoked on numerous occasions, including during the Civil Rights era to enforce desegregation orders in the South. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson all used the act to deploy federal troops to ensure compliance with court-ordered integration. More recently, President George H.W. Bush invoked the act in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots following the acquittal of police officers in the Rodney King case.

Legal scholars debate the scope and limitations of the Insurrection Act. Some argue that it grants the President broad authority to use military force within the United States, while others contend that its use should be limited to situations where there is a clear and present danger to the enforcement of federal law. Concerns about potential abuses of power and the militarization of domestic law enforcement often arise when the act is considered.

The protests in Minnesota are ongoing, and state officials have not yet requested federal assistance. It remains to be seen whether President Trump will follow through on his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act. The potential deployment of federal troops could escalate tensions and further inflame the situation, raising significant legal and political questions about the role of the military in domestic affairs.