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The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss sensitive plans, confirmed that members of an Army
military police brigade who are stationed at Fort Bragg in North
Carolina have been given prepare-to-deploy orders.
If deployed, the troops would likely offer support to civil
authorities in Minneapolis, according to the official, who
stressed that such standby orders are issued regularly and they
do not necessarily mean that the troops would end up going.
About 1,500 active-duty soldiers from the Army’s 11th Airborne
Division based in Alaska also have received similar standby
orders. President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the
Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that would
allow him to use active-duty troops as law enforcement.
That threat followed protests that erupted in Minneapolis after
a federal immigration officer killed resident Renee Good on Jan.
7. Trump quickly appeared to walk back the threat, telling
reporters a day later that there wasn’t a reason to use the act
“right now.”
“If I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump said. “It’s very powerful.”
When asked about the latest orders, which were reported earlier
by MS Now, the Pentagon said it didn't have information to
provide at this time.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and frequent target of
Trump, has urged the president to refrain from sending in more
troops and, in a statement Tuesday, invited him to visit
Minnesota and “help restore calm and order and reaffirm that
true public safety comes from shared purpose, trust, and
respect.”
In his second term, Trump has pushed traditional boundaries by
using troops in American cities, often over the objections of
local officials, amid federal operations targeting illegal
immigration and crime.
Trump deployed federalized National Guard troops to Los Angeles
last June after protesters took to the streets in response to a
blitz of immigration arrests. Ultimately, he sent about 4,000
Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines to guard federal
buildings and, later, to protect federal agents as they carried
out immigration arrests.
He also mobilized Guard troops in places like Chicago and
Portland, Oregon, but has faced a series of legal setbacks.
Trump said in December that he was dropping that push for the
time being.
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