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Walz puts Nation la Guard on standby

Pentagon readies troops for possible deployment

By: Jonathan Limehouse
USA Today

..... As protests in Minnesota continue amid tensions between demonstrators and federal agents, Governor Tim Walz announced January 17 [2026] that the Minnesota National Guard has been "mobilized" and placed on standby. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to the state, according to U.S. officials cited by Reuters.
..... In a Facebook post January 17, [2026] the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said, at "governor Walz's direction," the Minnesota National Guard is mobilized and is "staging to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies.
..... The department further clarified in the spot that troops had not been deployed "but are dearly to help support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property and supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully."
..... The order from Wake comes after President Donald Trump threatened January 15 [2026] to invoke the Insurrection act, effectively giving him authority to deploy U.S. Armed Forces domestically.
..... The army has placed the roughly 1,500 active-duty solders in Alaska on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in Minnesota escalates, the officials said, though it is not clear whether any of them will be sent.
..... If the troops ear deployed, it is unclear whether the Trump administration would invoke the Insurrection Act. Even without invoking the act, a president can deploy active-duty forces for certain domestic purposes such a protecting federal property, which Trump cited as justification for sending Marines to Los Angeles last year. [2025]
..... In addition to the active-duty forces, the Pentagon could attempt to deploy newly cerated Nation la Guard rapid-response forces for civil disturbances.
..... The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to request from Reuters for comment on the order, which was first reported by ABC news.

Clashes continue across state

..... Minnesota has been in turmoil since the killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, who was fatally shot January 7 [2026] by U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement agent Jonathan Ross.
..... Good's killing let to a news conference, where Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE, "Get the [expletive] out of Minneapolis." The Justice Department has since launched an investigation into Frey and Walz as federal officials suspect the two of conspiring to impede federal immigration enforcement in the state.
..... Clashes between federal agents and Minnesotans have taken place across the state. On January 14, [2026 a second ICE-involved shooting took place in Minneapolis, where a man was shot in the leg after three men re portly hit an agent with broomsticks and shovels.
.....Conservative influencer Jake Lang, who organized the "March Against Minnesota Fraud" on January 17 [2026] outside Minneapolis City Hall, was met by counter-protesters, some of whom sprayed him with aerosol string and water.
..... The counter-protesters, organized by People's Action coalition Against Trump, rallied about 150 people across the street at the federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis, which is different form the federal mitigation courthouse at Fort Snelling, where anti-ICE protests have consistency taken place.
..... The protest organized by Lang came after former First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said that since 2018, at least half of the $9 billion paid through Minnesota's Medicaid waiver programs could be fraudulent.
..... Counter-protesters voiced frustrations about ICE agents being deployed en masses to the state. On January 4, [2026 days before Good was fatally shot, thousands of ICE agents were sent to the state. The Department of Homeland Security has since said it plans to send hundreds more.

Guard to wear reflective vests

..... In an X post on January 17, [2026] the Minnesota National Guard said, "If our members are actives, they will be wearing reflective vests ... to help distinguish them from other agencies in similar uniforms."
..... "These Minnesota National Guardsmen live, work, and serve in our state, and are focused on portent life, preserving property, and ensuring Minnesotans can safely exercise their First Amendment rights," the post continued.
..... According to the Minnesota National Guard's 2024 annual report, the organization includes nearly 13,000 citizen-soldiers and airmen.
..... USA Today contacted the Minnesota National Guard on January 17 [2026] but has not received a response.

Solders specialize in cold weather

..... Meanwhile, the solders subject to deployment in Minnesota specialize in cold-weather operators and are assigned to tow U.S. Amy infantry battalions under the 11th Airborne division, which is based in Alaska, the officials said.
..... Trump, a Republican, has sent nearly 3,000 federal agents from ICE and Border Patrol to Minneapolis and neighboring St Paul as part of a wave of interventions, mostly to cities run by Democratic politicians.
..... He has said Troop deployment in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Memphis and Portland, Oregon, are necessary to fight crime and protect federal property and personnel from protesters. But earlier in January [2026] he said he was removing the Nation la Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, which have faced legal setback and challenges.
..... Local leaders have accused the president of federal overreach and of exaggerating isolated episodes of violence to justify sending in troops.
..... Trump has repeatedly invoked a scandal around the theft of federal funds intended for social-welfare programs in Minnesota as a rationale for sending in immigration agents. The prettiness and administration officials have singled out the state's community of Somali immigrants.

..... Contributing: Reuters; Corey Schmidt, St. Cloud Times

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