Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he would not counter the Trump administration’s “chaos” in the city on Sunday, saying this would give it an “excuse” to take action with troops.
The Pentagon has ordered around 1,500 troops to prepare for deployment to Minnesota, according to multiple outlets citing defense officials. The move comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are active in the state and Minneapolis.
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Frey deemed it “ridiculous” to have these troops at the ready, saying the city has “about 600 police officers,” as well as about 3,000 ICE officers and Border Patrol agents. He added the city won’t be intimidated by the federal government.
“And at the same time, the message is very clear that we are not going to take the bait. We will not counter Donald Trump‘s chaos with our own brand of chaos here, and we‘re not going to give them an excuse to do the thing that clearly they‘re trying to set up to do right now, which is these 1,500 troops,” Frey said on CNN’s State of the Union.
The mayor also said he “never thought in a million years” that Minneapolis would be “invaded” by its own federal government and said he and others need to be “standing up for these American values.”
The Department of Justice has subpoenaed both Frey and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) as part of an investigation, with both accused of impeding federal law enforcement’s ability to do its job in the state. However, Frey said he hasn’t received any notice, nor is he aware of any specific allegations.
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Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act on Thursday to quell the unrest in Minneapolis but relented on the threat a day later, telling reporters he doesn’t believe there’s any reason to use it currently but adding he would “if I needed it.”
Border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that Frey and Walz’s demands for federal agents to leave their communities could be resolved “real quick” under the condition that Minneapolis agrees to let ICE into its jails, allowing it to take custody of illegal immigrants with criminal records.
