Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday authorized the Minnesota National Guard to be placed on standby, a preparatory step allowing troops to respond quickly if called to assist local law enforcement.
Under Walz's executive order, troops are staged and ready to respond but have not been formally activated or deployed, limiting their role unless additional authorization is issued.
The action comes one day after Walz issued a warning order to prepare the Guard following the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent during an immigration protest in Minneapolis.
"Yesterday, I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed. They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations," Walz said in a statement.
The Minnesota State Patrol has mobilized 85 members of its Mobile Response Team to support law enforcement efforts in the Twin Cities, Walz's office said.
The New York Times reported earlier Thursday that the Trump administration is deploying more than 100 additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers to Minnesota.
Walz's move follows Wednesday's fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. Federal officials said Good, a U.S. citizen, attempted to use her vehicle to strike law enforcement officers and was shot by an ICE agent.
Good was not the target of immigration enforcement action, but the encounter began because her vehicle was blocking federal agents in the roadway.
Good ignored an agent's order to get out of her car. Instead, she attempted to drive off but struck another agent and was fatally shot.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the incident "domestic terrorism."
Amid the protests that followed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday the administration believes the confrontation and the unrest reflect what she described as "a larger, sinister left-wing movement."
Leavitt added that federal officers are being targeted for enforcing immigration law.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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