.@POTUS on the Insurrection Act: “If I needed it, I’d use it. It’s very powerful.” pic.twitter.com/6KLjkEhQqW

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 16, 2026

Trump also claimed the act has been used by 48% of presidents and that it’s been used “a lot.”

The president threatened on Thursday to invoke the old law to quell unrest in Minneapolis.

“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 wrote in a social media post.

Many residents of the city have protested the death of Renee Good at the hands of an immigration enforcement agent. Good struck an agent with her vehicle before being shot dead.

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) quickly asked Trump to turn down the political temperature after his initial threat.

“I am making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are. And an appeal to Minnesotans: I know this is scary. We can — we must — speak out loudly, urgently, but also peacefully. We cannot fan the flames of chaos. That’s what he wants,” Walz posted on X.

WHAT IS THE INSURRECTION ACT, THE LAW AT THE CENTER OF THE DEBATE OVER TRUMP DEPLOYING THE NATIONAL GUARD?

DHS and ICE responded by blaming the governor’s rhetoric for the violence.

“The buck stops with you, Governor. Tone down the hostile, inflammatory anti-ICE rhetoric,” ICE posted on X. “Work with ICE to remove criminal illegal aliens from MN streets.”