Army puts 1,500 soldiers on standby for possible Minnesota deployment, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active duty soldiers to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota, where federal authorities have been conducting a massive immigration enforcement operation, two defense officials said Sunday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division have been given prepare-to-deploy orders. The unit is based in Alaska and specializes in operating in arctic conditions.

One defense official said the troops are standing by to deploy to Minnesota should President Donald Trump invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that would allow him to employ active duty troops as law enforcement.

The move comes just days after Trump threatened to do just that to quell protests against his administration’s immigration crackdown.

In an emailed statement, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell did not deny the orders were issued and said the military "is always prepared to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief if called upon.”

ABC News was the first to report the development.

On Thursday, Trump said in a social media post that he would invoke the 1807 law “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."

He appeared to walk back the threat a day later, telling reporters at the White House that there wasn’t a reason to use it “right now.”

“If I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump said. “It’s very powerful.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act throughout both of his terms. In 2020 he threatened to use it to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, and in recent months he threatened to use it for immigration protests.

The law was most recently invoked by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 to end unrest in Los Angeles after the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Rodney King.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and frequent target of Trump, has urged the president to refrain from sending in more troops.

“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,” Walz said last week on social media.

People gather near the post office during a protest, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

People march and gather near the post office during a protest, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

An immigration supporter raises his fist during a protest Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stands outside the Pentagon during a welcome ceremony for Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi at the Pentagon, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf/)

Law enforcement detain a man outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during a protest on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A person holds an upside-down American flag as law enforcement stand during a protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Rescuers recovered more bodies from a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, pushing the death toll to at least 15 with about 65 reported missing,

Firefighters extinguished the blaze at the multistory Gul Plaza late Sunday nearly 24 hours after it erupted, allowing rescue teams to enter the building. Authorities feared that the death toll could further rise.

Sindh provincial Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told a news conference in Karachi that rescue teams were searching for survivors and the dead. He said those killed in the fire included a firefighter. He said the government would provide 10 million rupees ($36,000) in compensation to the family of each person killed.

The fire broke spread quickly through shops storing cosmetics, garments and plastic goods, said Dr. Abid Jalal Sheikh, the city’s chief rescue officer.

Some of the relatives of the missing waited outside the burned-out plaza Monday, hoping for news.

Qaiser Ali said his daughter, daughter-in-law and sister went shopping Saturday and were inside the building when the fire broke out. He said he had spoken to all three by mobile phone until Sunday, when they went silent.

“I don’t know what has happened to them or whether they are alive,” Ali told The Associated Press. “We are praying that all those missing come out safely.”

Mohammad Abrar said he managed to escape the fire but his brother, Saifur Rehman, who owns a shop in the plaza, was left behind. He said he feared for his safety.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said an investigation was underway.

Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, has a history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction. In November 2023, a fire at a shopping mall in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others.

A massive fire at a garments factory in Karachi in 2012 killed 260 people.

Rescue workers and firefighters work with heavy machinery to search through the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)

Firefighters search through the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Family members of missing persons comfort each other as they wait near the site of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Family members of missing persons wait near the site of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Rescue workers and firefighters work with heavy machinery to search through the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Firefighters examine a collapsed portion of a multi-story shopping mall following a massive fire that broke out overnight, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)

Firefighters try to control a massive fire that was broke out in a multi-story shopping mall in overnight, in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)