US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to quell unrest over federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
He threatened to send in troops following a night of protests and vandalism in the Minnesota city after an agent shot a man in the leg.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said an officer opened fire after he was attacked by three Venezuelan nationals with a shovel and broom handle.
Tensions have been running high in Minneapolis since an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, 37, last week, sparking nationwide protests.
The Insurrection Act is a 19th Century law that allows active-duty military personnel to be deployed for law enforcement duties inside the US. Trump has previously said he might invoke the 1807 law elsewhere without ever doing so.
In his statement on Truth Social, the president said he would use the law if Minnesota officials failed to stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists.
According to the agency statement, the shooting occurred after a car chase involving a Venezuelan national, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was previously convicted for driving without a licence.
Officials reported that after the pursuit, Sosa-Celis got out of his vehicle and fought with a federal agent. Two other Venezuelans, Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma, emerged from a nearby apartment and allegedly attacked the officer with a snow shovel and broom handle.
All three were arrested after the incident; the agent was treated for injuries while Sosa-Celis received treatment for injuries that were non-life threatening.
Secretary of DHS Kristi Noem claimed the incident was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement, citing the ambush the officer faced.
Following the shooting, clashes erupted between protesters and law enforcement in the Hawthorne area of Minneapolis, leading to damage to government property and injuries among police, including being pelted with fireworks and debris.
Mayor Jacob Frey demanded the cessation of ICE operations in the city, while Governor Tim Walz urged federal intervention to help de-escalate tensions rather than incite further violence.
The Trump administration maintains that ICE's actions are necessary, and federal agents continue to be deployed in Minnesota as tensions simmer.
