Stephen Colbert used his Late Show monologue on Thursday night to attack President Donald Trump’s efforts to enforce the law against illegal immigrants taking refuge in Democrat-run Minnesota and the rioters who support them.
The left-wing host saw the actions by law-breaking rioters responding to Trump’s move to quell protests over federal immigration raids as unfair and enforcing a “siege by masked armed goons, victimizing American citizens.” He said:
[…] with Minnesota under siege by masked goons victimizing its residents, Trump threatened to invoke the insurrection act. Well, that’ll calm everybody down. I’m sure minnesotans will just love that.
That’s why all the protestors’ signs say “ICE go home” “then come back in a tank!” Fun fact: the insurrection act allows the president to deploy members of the military or federalize the state National Guard to contain an insurrection in a U.S. state. And hold on.
Hold on. I’m being given a correction. That fact was not fun. 2026.
Colbert spoke after Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would enable him to send U.S. military forces into Minnesota to quell the riots overtaking local streets.
The Insurrection Act allows for domestic deployment of the U.S. military for civilian law enforcement purposes such as conducting searches and making arrests.
Already the move is creating a response in Minneapolis, as Breitbart New reported.
Trump has threatened to invoke it in response to protests against his mass deportation drive not only in Minnesota but also in other Democratic-ruled states — California, Illinois and Oregon.
The president did so in a Truth Social post on Thursday, following protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the state and across the country acting to enforce the law.