What unfolded in Minneapolis this month was no garden-variety protest; it was the predictable explosion that happens when federal agents are sent into densely populated communities without the cooperation of local leaders. An ICE operation that resulted in the fatal shooting of Renee Good ignited outrage, and days of confrontations, arrests, and property damage followed as tens of thousands watched the city spiral. The White House’s deployment of large numbers of federal officers and the resulting chaos have left working Minnesotans wondering who will protect them when leaders abdicate responsibility.
President Trump publicly warned he could invoke the Insurrection Act to restore order when state officials refused to rein in the violence, a move that stirred both hope and alarm across the nation. The threat was the kind of decisive statement Americans expect from a leader sworn to defend the republic, though the president later appeared to pull back amid legal and political blowback. Whether he follows through or not, the message was clear: the federal government will not stand by while cities burn and citizens live in fear.
Conservative commentators who long debated the wisdom of invoking the Insurrection Act — including Glenn Beck himself — have publicly wrestled with the tradeoff between necessary force and dangerous precedent. Beck’s recent program acknowledged the reality on the ground, arguing that the situation in Minnesota resembles an insurrection more than mere civil disobedience, and that decisive action may be necessary even as it sets a troubling example for the future. That kind of hardheaded conservatism — patriotically unwilling to cede streets to chaos — is exactly what many Americans are craving right now.
But make no mistake: the decision to consider federal troops on U.S. soil is a direct consequence of local political failure. Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis leadership have publicly condemned federal tactics and signaled an unwillingness to coordinate, while left-leaning officials and activist groups cheered the resistance to ICE operations that were designed to enforce the law. When elected leaders prioritize political theater over public safety, the fallout lands squarely on ordinary families and small businesses trying to keep their lights on.
Even as conservatives defend law and order, we must demand full, transparent investigations into any use of lethal force and insist on accountability where misconduct is found. Supporting the men and women who enforce the law does not mean blind loyalty; it means demanding standards, real consequence for wrongdoing, and protection for officers who face genuine threats. America’s rule of law must be enforced fairly and firmly — not weaponized for political points or turned into another culture-war spectacle.
The Insurrection Act is not a magic button; it is a last-resort tool with a fraught history that has been used sparingly and comes with constitutional and political peril. Legal scholars and the courts have long debated the scope of presidential authority for domestic deployments, and history warns us that once such powers are normalized, they are difficult to retract. Conservatives should recognize that supporting a president who is willing to act does not relieve us of the duty to guard civil liberties and prevent normalization of extraordinary measures.
Meanwhile, the Biden-era-style reflex from the media and radical activists to weaponize every tragedy into a political cudgel is corrosive and cowardly. The left screams about militarization when federal agents act, yet they cheered when mobs shut down free speech or vandalized small businesses in the name of protest. The American people are smarter than that double standard; they want safety, prosperity, and a government that enforces laws equally — not a nation where politics decides who gets protection.
Patriots should demand a simple bargain from their leaders: restore order, investigate every questionable use of force, and hold the guilty accountable — whether they are lawbreakers in the streets or officials who ordered reckless operations. If that requires tough talk from the White House and a willingness to deploy federal assets to secure citizens, so be it; but safeguards and oversight must come with that power. Stand with the hardworking families who deserve peace in their neighborhoods, not with the chaos merchants who treat American streets as a political battleground.
