Trump blames Minnesota officials for ‘inciting insurrection’ with fatal shooting

Public officials on both sides of the aisle are sending mixed signals about how to de-escalate Saturday’s fatal shooting at the hands of federal officers in Minneapolis.

But President Trump knows just whom to blame: Minnesota Democrats.

He said on social media that Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are “inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” 

A 37-year-old man was wrestled to the ground by several agents, videoed by bystanders, and shot multiple times in south Minneapolis early Saturday.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the officers were responding to a man who had a gun with two magazines and fired “defensive shots” after he “violently resisted” their attempts to disarm him.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the victim’s only previous interaction with law enforcement, as far as he knows, was for traffic tickets and was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.

In Mr. Trump’s Truth Social response alongside a photo of the victim’s firearm, he said, “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go — What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!”

He said that thousands of “Illegal Alien Criminals” have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota, but if they were still there, “you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!”

“Let ICE patriots do their job!” he said in all caps.

His remarks were hotter than Vice President J.D. Vance’s calls to “lower the temperature” in the state.

“When I visited Minnesota, what the ICE agents wanted more than anything was to work with local law enforcement so that situations on the ground didn’t get out of hand,” Mr. Vance said Saturday. “The local leadership in Minnesota has so far refused to answer those requests.”

Mr. Walz, a Democrat, said he contacted the White House after the “horrific” shooting.

“Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Mr. Walz, a Democrat, said on social media. “The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”

The president has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell persistent protests, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom taunted Saturday.

“So today, Trump made a shooting happen,” he said. “The President must end his violent occupation of Minnesota. NOW.”

After meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis on Thursday, Mr. Vance said the Insurrection Act wouldn’t be needed “right now.” 

Mr. Frey asked, “How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” 

“How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?” he said at a news conference.

Within hours of the fatal shooting, Democrats renewed calls for the federal immigration operation in Minnesota to end. 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat, had one message for the Trump administration, plus for Republicans in Congress “who have stood silent” following the incident: “Get ICE out of our state NOW.”

Rep. Angie Craig, a fellow Minnesota Democrat, echoed that sentiment, asking, “How much more evidence do my Republican colleagues in Minnesota need to speak out?”

Rep. Ilhan Omar said she was appalled that federal agents are targeting Minnesota residents instead of protecting them.

“This isn’t isolated or accidental. The Trump administration is trying to beat us into submission rather than protect us,” the Minnesota Democrat said in a statement. “This administration cannot continue violating constitutional rights under the guise of immigration enforcement.”

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin described the incident as a “state-sanctioned execution” in his hometown.

Another Democrat, Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, decried Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s practices, urging the agency to leave her state “before they do this again.”

“Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans peacefully called for ICE to leave Minnesota,” she said. “Today, another of us was killed in broad daylight.”

But Ms. Murphy’s GOP counterpart, Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, blamed Mr. Walz. 

He said the governor’s actions, which many Republicans believe are making the unrest worse, have “turned this into a propaganda war.”

Mr. Johnson added that Senate Republicans are calling for “immediate discussions to plan a peaceful path forward and restore order.”

The National Border Patrol Council defended the federal agents, saying that when a “peaceful” protester brings a loaded weapon, there will be “severe consequences and repercussions.”

“We have full confidence that when more facts are revealed, our agents and officers will be shown to have utilized justifiable force in eliminating the threat,” the statement read.

The council said the media and politicians’ “irresponsible, hate-filled and false rhetoric” will get people unnecessarily hurt or killed when they portray agents as the aggressors. 

“They have encouraged these reckless confrontations and attacks on our agents and officers who are performing their lawful duties and enforcing the laws that Congress has put on the books. The fake and dishonest media and the shameless politicians should be held accountable for willfully misleading the public and enticing these protesters and agitators.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s comments echoed those of the president, saying local leaders’ “rhetoric empowered criminals and put federal law enforcement’s lives at risk.

“It’s dangerous and has made the situation in Minneapolis much worse,” the Minnesota Republican said. “Unlike my Democrat colleagues, I’m going to let law enforcement conduct their investigation and not jump to asinine conclusions. We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed.”