Trump’s Insurrection Act threat stands out against the law’s long history
January 15, 2026
Donald Trump would not be the first president to invoke the Insurrection Act, as he has now threatened to do as a way to send U.S. military forces to Minnesota. But he’d be the first to use the 19th century law to send troops to quell protests that started because of federal officers the president already has sent to the area — one of whom shot and killed a U.S. citizen. The law allows presidents to use the military domestically but only on rare occasions. It has been invoked on more than two dozen occasions but not much since 20th Century’s Civil Rights Movement. And some legal experts say nothing in Minneapolis justify using the act again now.