President Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to shut down leftist-led attacks against ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. But the question everyone should be asking is: How much worse do things have to get before he does so?
The president’s latest Truth Social post came hours after officials revealed yet another federal agent was assaulted while carrying out immigration enforcement operations in the city. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the agent was “ambushed and attacked” by two subjects “with a snow shovel and broom handle” while attempting to detain a Venezuelan national released into the country by the Biden administration.
“As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick,” the agency reported. “Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life. The initial subject was hit in the leg. All three subjects ran back into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside.”
News of Wednesday night’s events was soon accompanied by reporting of rioters vandalizing and looting what appears to be a vehicle belonging to federal immigration officials. The incidents occurred a week after an anti-ICE activist was shot and killed by an immigration official after she rammed him with her car.
In his Truth Social post, Trump warned that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if “the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job.”
But the reality is that Minnesota’s political leaders have already made clear they aren’t interested in enforcing the law or defending the ICE agents operating in the state.
If anything, Democrats like Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey are actively inciting the violence being waged against the very agents Trump wants protected. Both effeminate officials, for example, wasted no time in laying the blame for Wednesday’s shooting at the feet of the Trump administration and ICE agents.
Walz and Frey have made clear that they have zero intention of enforcing the law. Which means it’s incumbent upon Trump to stop pussyfooting around and do it before any ICE agents get seriously maimed or killed.
This country cannot afford a repeat of the 2020 “summer of love” riots, in which Black Lives Matter and Antifa anarchists were permitted to burn down American cities with little to no consequences from the Trump-run federal government. For too long, these communist footsoldiers’ violent antics have gone unaccounted for.
The time for tough words is over. Trump has an obligation to enforce the law, and it’s way past time that he does.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
