Pentagon readies 1,500 troops to possibly deploy to Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS: The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the site of large protests against the government’s deportation drive, US media reported on Sunday.
The army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the northern state escalates, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed defense officials, adding that it is not clear whether any of them will be sent.
The White House told the Post in a statement that it is typical for the Pentagon “to be prepared for any decision the President may or may not make.”
President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to use the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces if officials in the state do not stop protesters from targeting immigration officials after a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Earlier, hundreds of anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis chased off a small group of far-right activists who had vowed to march on a neighbourhood where many immigrants live on Saturday, stoking tensions in a city on edge after the killing of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent 10 days ago.
Waving signs and screaming chants that called for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents to leave Minneapolis, the anti-ICE protesters gathered downtown near City Hall. Scores of them moved forward, forcing about 10 far-right demonstrators against the outside of the municipal government centre within minutes. Some in the crowd tossed water balloons that soaked the right-wing demonstrators as temperatures hit -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 Celsius) with the wind chill.
Police maintained their distance as the duelling protests played out. About an hour after the rallies began, the tiny contingent of right-wing activists quickly walked a few blocks away to a hotel, hounded by hundreds of anti-ICE protesters who screamed obscenities and told them to get out of the city. A few scuffles broke out, but Reuters did not observe any serious violence. Monitoring Desk
