The Pentagon has placed 1,500 soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division in Alaska on standby to possibly be deployed to Minnesota, just days after President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests over ICE’s immigration crackdown.
This comes as the Trump administration says it has opened criminal investigations into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both of whom have sharply criticized ICE’s tactics. In a statement, Walz said, “Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”
On Friday, a federal judge ordered ICE agents to stop arresting or pepper-spraying peaceful protesters in Minneapolis. On Sunday, demonstrators disrupted services at a church in St. Paul to protest one of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, who is reportedly a top ICE official in the Twin Cities. The Department of Justice is now threatening to investigate the protesters.
In another development, the Trump administration is being accused of denying legal counsel to many arrested during the immigration sweeps. Multiple attorneys have told ABC that they have been prevented from seeing clients held at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, ICE agents continue to carry out raids. In St. Paul, armed, masked agents battered down the door of a home and — without a warrant — arrested a man who was led out of his home in his underwear in subfreezing weather. It turned out the man, ChongLy “Scott” Thao, was a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Laos. He was later released and spoke to reporters.
ChongLy “Scott” Thao: “And then, suddenly, there’s like guns pointed at us. I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ And then they go, ‘You, come out here.’ I go, ‘OK,’ and then I came out there with my hands up. And then they said, put my hands on my back. So I did. And suddenly they just handcuffed me.”
We will go to Minnesota after headlines.
