Walz Mobilizes Minnesota National Guard Due to Anti-ICE Protests

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard as anti-ICE protests have continued, according to multiple reports.

“At Gov. Walz’s direction, the Minnesota National Guard have been mobilized and are staging to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies,” the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a post on X.

In a statement to CNN, Minnesota National Guard spokesperson Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya explained that the National Guard was “not deployed to city streets at this time.”

Tsuchiya added that the Minnesota National Guard would provide “traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully.”

CNN reported that “Officials in St. Paul and Minneapolis are bracing for more protests” after two recent shootings involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials:

State and local officials in St. Paul and Minneapolis are bracing for more protests in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer earlier this month.

Demonstrations intensified after the 37-year-old mother of three was fatally shot in her car by an ICE agent. Tensions flared again this week when another agent shot and injured a Venezuelan man accused of “violently” resisting arrest, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Breitbart News’s AWR Hawkins reported that on January 7, Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent who was accused of having “weaponized her vehicle” against ICE officials.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed in a social media post at the time that the woman attempted “to run over” ICE agents who were “conducting targeted operations” in Minneapolis.

The Hill reported that “a week after” Good was killed, protests increased after “a federal officer shot and injured a Venezuelan migrant after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle.”