The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota, according to a Trump administration source, as state officials have also mobilized the National Guard. Two battalions from the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division are on prepare-to-deploy orders in Minnesota, according to a US defense official. It is unclear what tasks they would take on, though the official said it could include crowd control or support for law enforcement, similar to the role active-duty forces played in Los Angeles last summer. Military officials say they have options prepared for President Donald Trump. It is typical for the Pentagon "to be prepared for any decision the President may or may not make," the White House said in a statement to CNN. "The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief if called upon," Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. News of the active-duty soldiers on standby comes after reports of an expected surge in Customs and Border Protection agents and other federal personnel, including a small number of FBI agents. The Minnesota National Guard "are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety," Minnesota's Department of Public Safety said in a social media post which included pictures of Guard members gathering bags of equipment alongside a row of trucks on a snowy road. The National Guard is "staged and ready to respond," Minnesota National Guard spokesperson Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya said in a statement to CNN, noting the troops will help provide "traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully." Walz thanked local law enforcement for maintaining public safety amid the ongoing protests against the Trump administration's sweeping immigration operation in the Twin Cities. He urged everyone making their voices heard this weekend to "stay safe and stay peaceful." "This act was clearly designed to intimidate the people of Minneapolis," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, calling the administration's actions "ridiculous" and "completely unconstitutional." "I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government," Frey said. On the prospect of state National Guard and local police facing off against ICE agents and active-duty troops in Minneapolis, Frey said, "We can't have that in America." Trump previously raised the prospect of invoking the Insurrection Act, a centuries-old law, which would allow the deployment of US troops to Minnesota – which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche voiced support for on Sunday. "President Trump has promised to keep the American people safe, and the fact that the local law enforcement, because their leadership is not doing their jobs, there may come a time when the president has to order that," Blanche said on "Fox News Sunday." "We support him, the attorney general supports him because we have to keep the citizens safe," Blanche added. The possible deployment of even more law enforcement officials to the state comes as protests continue on the frigid streets of Minneapolis. On Saturday, crowds of bundled-up protesters faced tense standoffs with federal immigration officers and a confrontation between anti- and pro-ICE demonstrators near City Hall. Protests intensified after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car earlier this month. The outrage deepened last week when another federal agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg who the Department of Homeland Security said was "violently" resisting arrest. — Agencies
