00:00What's happening in Minneapolis right now is no longer just a protest story.
00:25It's a flashpoint.
00:26In the span of weeks, two American citizens are dead, federal agents are firing tear
00:32gas in city streets, and the President of the United States is openly floating the idea
00:38of invoking the Insurrection Act.
00:40We haven't used the Insurrection Act.
00:43You're considering using the Insurrection Act?
00:45I've always considered it, but we haven't needed it anywhere.
00:4948% of the presidents of this country have used it.
00:53Bush used it, I think, 22 times or something, you know that one.
00:56I mean, Bush the Elder.
00:58So the question many are now asking is simple.
01:02Is Minneapolis sliding towards something far darker?
01:06This latest escalation follows the fatal shooting of Alex Preddy, a 37-year-old ICU nurse killed
01:13during an anti-ice protest.
01:15Just weeks earlier, Renee Good, a teacher and activist, was also shot dead during a confrontation
01:22with immigration agents.
01:24Two deaths, two encounters with federal authorities, one city under siege, politically and emotionally.
01:32On Sunday night, anger boiled over.
01:35Protesters stormed a hotel they believed was housing ICE officers.
01:39What began as a demonstration quickly turned into a riot.
01:43Windows smashed, walls spray-painted with anti-ice slogans, protesters forcing their way
01:49into the lobby while armed federal agents struggled to hold the line.
01:55Local police reportedly arrived late and refused to physically remove the rioters.
02:00The standoff ended only after more federal agents arrived, deploying tear gas to clear
02:06the scene.
02:07This chaos is tied directly to Trump's immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
02:13In December, ICE launched Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis and St. Paul, despite the
02:19cities being more than 1,000 miles from the southern border.
02:23The move followed revelations of a massive Somali-led fraud ring, with nearly 100 people charged
02:30and 3,000 arrests made, according to ICE.
02:33Earlier this month, Trump doubled down, sending 2,000 additional ICE, Border Patrol and federal
02:40agents into the area.
02:42Supporters call it law enforcement, critics call it provocation.
02:47Protests erupted almost immediately.
02:50Activists organized through ICE watch groups, blocking streets, surrounding vehicles and tracking
02:55suspected agents.
02:57It was during one of these encounters that Renee Good was killed after refusing to exit
03:02her vehicle.
03:03ICE says the agent feared for his life.
03:06Activists say the response was excessive.
03:08That same tension surrounds the killing of Alex Prattie.
03:11DHS claims he brandished a legally-owned handgun.
03:15Video footage remains unclear.
03:18Firearms experts argue the weapon may have discharged accidentally, a model ICE itself banned last year.
03:25The political temperature has only risen since.
03:28Vice President J.D. Vance accuses local leaders of creating engineered chaos.
03:34Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye has vowed city police will not cooperate with ICE, even saying
03:40officers would fight ICE on the streets.
03:43Minnesota's governor has sided with protesters.
03:46The National Guard deployed not for crowd control, but to hand out coffee and donuts.
03:52National Democrats have added fuel to the fire.
03:55Calls to stand up and speak up are being echoed online, where some protesters now openly stop
04:01vehicles, demanding proof that drivers are not federal agents.
04:05And the rhetoric is turning dangerous.
04:08One state attorney general suggested activists could be justified in shooting ICE officers.
04:13DHS called it a direct threat.
04:17So is a new civil conflict looming?
04:20Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a move that would allow military deployment
04:25inside the U.S.
04:27But he's made similar threats before and backed down.
04:30For now, reports suggest he's wavering again, worried the images of violence are drowning
04:35out his immigration message, with midterms fast approaching.
04:39For now, Minneapolis remains tense, federal agents are still on the ground, protesters are
04:45still mobilizing, and both sides believe more blood could be spilled.
04:50Whether this ends in de-escalation or something far worse may depend less on the streets and
04:56more on the politics unfolding behind closed doors.
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