Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act to end protests in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors. In 2020, for example, he threatened to use the act to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, and in recent months he threatened to use it for immigration protests.

“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, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities asked for the assistance.

“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.

The operation grew when ICE, which is a DHS agency, sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area in early January.

Protesters gathered Thursday night at the federal building that is being used as a base for the crackdown, yelling “shame on you” at the officers guarding the facility.

Demonstrations have become common since Good was fatally shot Jan. 7, but this night's protest was slightly more subdued a day after the governor and mayor implored protesters to remain peaceful.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles and Chicago and despite seeing initial success, have tended to fizzle in the face of appeal. In Chicago, for example, last year a judge ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to brief her nightly following a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who said agents used too much force during demonstrations. But three days later, an appeals court stopped the updates.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.

The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.

St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.

Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.

Madhani reported from Washington, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Rebecca Santana in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed.

Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A protester throws back a tear gas canister during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, second from left, blows a whistle with other activists to warn people of federal immigration officers Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A child and family are escorted away after federal law enforcement deployed tear gas in a neighborhood during protests on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Make that seven straight races without a medal for Mikaela Shiffrin at the Winter Olympics.

The American skiing standout was given the ideal platform to win the new team combined event after partner Breezy Johnson led the opening downhill leg on Tuesday.

Shiffrin was the last racer out in the slalom — the second leg of the event — and had the 15th fastest time, dropping the U.S. to fourth place and extending her Olympic slump that stretches back to 2022 when she didn’t win a medal in any of her six races at the Beijing Games.

Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber of Austria won gold, while Paula Moltzan and Jacqueline Wiles took bronze ahead of their more high-profile U.S. teammates.

Olympic redemption will have to wait, then, for Shiffrin, who is the most successful World Cup racer of all time with a record 108 victories. She is set to compete in her core events of slalom and giant slalom later in the Milan Cortina Games as she looks to add to her two golds and a silver from her first two Olympics.

Johnson missed out on a second medal, having won the downhill on Sunday.

Don't be surprised if Johannes Høsflot Klæbo soon holds the all-time record for gold medals at the Winter Games.

The Norwegian cross-country star powered to his second straight Olympic gold — and seventh of his career — by winning the men’s sprint. He was a comfortable 0.8 seconds ahead of Ben Ogden of the United States.

Klæbo moved to one gold behind three compatriots: Marit Bjørgen, Bjørn Dæhlie and Ole Einar Bjørndalen, all of whom have retired with a record-tying eight. Bjørgen and Dæhlie also were cross-country skiers. Bjørndalen won his gold medals in biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing with shooting.

Klæbo can join them by winning the 10-kilometer freestyle on Friday. He already won the skiathlon on Sunday for his sixth gold.

In the women's final, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden watched as the country swept the medals. Linn Svahn edged defending champion Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist was third.

It was an emotional day for Norway's medal winners at the biathlon.

After winning the men’s 20-kilometer individual race, Johan-Olav Botn paid tribute to a Norway teammate who died in the lead-up to the Olympics.

Botn pointed to the sky as he crossed the line in honor of Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who was found dead in his hotel room in Lavaze, Italy, in December.

Sturla Holm Laegreid won the bronze medal and then gave quite the post-race interview, revealing — while fighting back tears — in a live broadcast that he had been unfaithful to his girlfriend.

The golds for Botn and Klæbo took Norway to six overall — three more than any other nation so far.

Isabella and Rasmus Wranå, Sweden’s first-ever team of siblings at the Winter Olympics, won gold in mixed doubles curling by beating U.S. pair Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin.

A two-point play by Isabella off the final rock of a tight match sealed a 6-5 win for the Swedish duo, who used to be rival players and now are Olympic champions together.

The Americans won a first medal in Olympic mixed doubles, and Thiesse became the first American woman to capture a medal in curling.

Gold in women’s singles luge went to Germany — again.

Julia Taubitz became the 13th winner from Germany in 17 editions, finishing nearly a full second ahead of Elina Bota of Latvia after four runs over two days. Ashley Farquharson took bronze, the third singles medal ever for USA Luge at the Olympics and matching the best finish by an American women’s slider.

An Olympic gold completes Taubitz’s resume. Now-retired German great Natalie Geisenberger won the last three gold medals.

Twenty years later, Italian short track speedskater Arianna Fontana is still winning medals at the Winter Olympics.

The latest was a gold in the mixed team relay. That took her to three golds and 12 medals overall in an Olympic career that started in 2006 — when she was 15 — at the Winter Games in Turin.

Fontana was already the most decorated short track speedskater of all time and there’s chances for more medals in the 500 and the 3,000 relay at the 2026 Olympics.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Germany's Julia Taubitz celebrates winning the gold medal during a women's single luge competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Sweden's Isabella Wranaa and Rasmus Wranaa celebrate on the podium after winning the gold medal match of the mixed doubles curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, poses after winning the gold medal in the cross-country skiing men's sprint classic at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

United State's Mikaela Shiffrin reacts as she looks back to see her disappointing time as Germany's Emma Aicher, background left, and Kira Weidle Winkelmann celebrate winning the silver medal in an alpine ski, women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin, left, is hugged by United States' Paula Moltzan at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)