President Donald Trump on Thursday warned he would invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota to end the violent protests flaring up after a series of confrontations between residents and federal immigration agents. His hardline message was aimed at what he called “professional agitators” attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., and he vowed to deploy whatever force was necessary to restore order in a city spiraling into chaos.
The latest unrest followed the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent earlier this month and a subsequent shooting during a separate enforcement action that left another man wounded, sparking large and angry demonstrations across Minneapolis. Federal officials say the agents came under attack during enforcement operations while local leaders describe a community terrorized by what they call an occupation; neither side can be ignored when streets are unsafe.
Conservative Americans should welcome a president who will not stand by idly while mobs set the tone for public life and target federal officers doing their duty. Minnesota’s Democratic leaders have shown moral cowardice and political grandstanding rather than honest governance, and their failure to secure neighborhoods left the door open to lawlessness that must be shut.
Yes, invoking the Insurrection Act is a grave step, but the federal government has a constitutional duty to enforce the law and protect its personnel when local authorities refuse or fail to act. While critics scream “overreach,” we must remember that lawful immigration enforcement is part of national sovereignty and that the deliberate disruption of those operations by mobs is not civic protest but organized disorder.
History shows the Insurrection Act has been used before to quell unrest when civilian authorities could not maintain order, and a president who hesitates while cities burn is no friend of the rule of law. If left unchecked, the same permissive approach that tolerates chaos in blue cities will metastasize across the country and render everyday Americans less safe in their homes and on their streets.
Hardworking Americans deserve leaders who protect life, property, and the peaceful exercise of lawful authority—not political theater and excuses from career politicians. Stand with law enforcement and sensible enforcement of immigration laws, demand accountability from those who foment disorder, and insist that the first duty of government is to keep its citizens safe.
