Defense officials say roughly 1,500 active-duty soldiers have been ordered to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota if unrest escalates, placing the units on "prepare-to-deploy" orders as officials monitor demonstrations tied to a recent fatal shooting. The forces reportedly include two infantry battalions from the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, a unit based in Alaska with training in cold-weather operations. President Donald Trump has publicly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if state officials do not act to stop attacks on federal immigration personnel. Federal scrutiny of state and local officials, including an inquiry by the Department of Justice into obstruction allegations in Minnesota, has amplified partisan and community divisions. Officials have emphasized planning rather than orders to move, but the alert underscores the fraught intersection of national security, civil liberties, and public health.

Source: bd News24 January 18, 2026 13:57 UTC