1,500 soldiers on standby for possible Minnesota deployment, reports say, as state mobilizes National Guard

By Hanna Park, Sydney Bishop, CNN

(CNN) — The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for deployment to Minnesota, according to defense officials cited by The Washington Post and ABC News, as Minnesota officials have also mobilized the National Guard.

The soldiers are on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence escalates in Minnesota, according to the Washington Post. It is typical for the Pentagon “to be prepared for any decision the President may or may not make,” the White House said in a statement to CNN.

“The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief if called upon,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.

The Minnesota National Guard “are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety,” Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety said in a social media post that included pictures of Guard members gathering bags of equipment alongside a row of trucks on a snowy road.

The National Guard is “staged and ready to respond,” Minnesota National Guard spokesperson Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya said in a statement to CNN, noting the troops will help provide “traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully.”

Walz thanked local law enforcement for maintaining public safety amid the ongoing protests against the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration operation in the Twin Cities. He urged everyone making their voices heard this weekend to “stay safe and stay peaceful.”

The possible deployment of National Guard and active-duty soldiers comes as protests continue on the frigid streets of Minneapolis. On Saturday, crowds of bundled-up protesters faced tense standoffs with federal immigration officers and a confrontation between anti- and pro-ICE demonstrators near City Hall.

Protests intensified after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car earlier this month. Her killing has sparked protests across the country and fueled outrage at President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has seen armed and masked agents employing aggressive tactics in targeted campaigns across US cities. That outrage deepened last week when another federal agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg who the Department of Homeland Security said was “violently” resisting arrest.

Walz gave the initial order for the state National Guard to support local law enforcement the day after Good was killed.

Crowds gather in subfreezing temperatures

Demonstrators chanted and waved signs in downtown Minneapolis and outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Saturday despite brutally cold weather. Extra measures were put in place in downtown Minneapolis with blocked roads and at least one hotel bolstering security due to the protests.

At the Whipple federal building, a large group of federal officers clad in riot gear moved toward protesters, who responded with chants of expletives and boos. Some protesters urged restraint, calling on the crowd to stay together.

CNN observed several protesters detained by federal law enforcement near the building. The demonstrations appeared largely peaceful, and it was not immediately clear what led to the detentions. CNN has reached out to DHS for comment.

Personnel from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department were also present but told CNN in the evening that they did not detain or arrest anyone at Saturday’s protests. Sheriff’s deputies’ vehicles were used to block parts of the street from demonstrators and deputies appeared to mostly remain in their cars.

Earlier in the day, conservative influencer Jake Lang led a small group supporting ICE in what was dubbed the “March Against Minnesota Fraud” near City Hall but was outnumbered and chased away by a much larger group of counter-demonstrators, CNN affiliate KARE reported. The Minneapolis Police Department told CNN Saturday evening they gave a dispersal order but made no arrests and the crowd “eventually dispersed without incident.”

Lang said on social media before the event that he intended to “burn a Quran” on the steps of City Hall, but it’s unclear whether that happened, according to the Associated Press. He appeared to have bruises and scrapes on his head as he left the area Saturday, the AP reported. Lang, who recently announced plans to run for US Senate in Florida, is among the January 6 defendants granted clemency by President Trump. He was charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes, the AP reported.

Judge limits feds’ response to protests

Demonstrations are continuing with new restrictions placed on federal agents under a preliminary injunction from a judge on Friday.

Federal agents cannot arrest or detain peaceful protesters or deploy certain crowd-control measures against them, according to US District Judge Katherine Menendez’s ruling. Menendez also said agents can no longer stop and detain drivers when there is “no reasonable articulable suspicion” they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with federal operations, noting, “The act of safely following” the officers “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop.”

The restrictions apply to personnel carrying out the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge, which began last month and involves thousands of federal agents dispatched to the Twin Cities to target undocumented Somali immigrants.

The city of Minneapolis responded with a statement saying, “As this is a federal court order, we expect the federal administration to change course and comply for the safety of all.”

Responding to the ruling, assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said agents follow training and use “the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property” from what the department called “dangerous rioters.”

Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino issued a similar statement on X, alleging “agitators” in Minneapolis have assaulted and thrown objects at officers and rammed law enforcement vehicles.

“We will continue enforcing the law, making arrests, and keeping Minneapolis safe. Undeterred. Unapologetic,” Bovino said, without specifically references the judge’s ruling.

The preliminary injunction stems from a lawsuit filed by activists that is separate from a lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities over the federal government’s Operation Metro Surge.

The escalating legal battles come amid word that the Department of Justice is investigating Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Walz and Frey and other Democrats decried the reported investigation, accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing the DOJ to target political opponents.

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CNN’s Holly Yan and Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.