MINNESOTA, Jan. 17, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Minnesota governor Tim Walz has mobilized his state’s National Guard.
“At Gov. Walz’s direction, the Minnesota National Guard have been mobilized and are staging to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies,” says a statement issued by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
“They are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property and supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully.”
The Minnesota National Guard posted a statement Saturday on social media.
“Members of the Minnesota National Guard are on standby, ready to assist local law enforcement and public safety agencies. If our members are activated, they will be wearing reflective vests, as pictured here, to help distinguish them from other agencies in similar uniforms. These Minnesota National Guardsmen live, work, and serve in our state, and are focused on protecting life, preserving property, and ensuring Minnesotans can safely exercise their First Amendment rights.”
Photo: Minnesota National Guard. Faces obscured by source
Walz posted a social media message telling state residents to “Stay safe and stay peaceful today.
“Our public safety team has the resources, coordination, and personnel on the ground to maintain public safety and respond if needed. Thanks to local law enforcement for keeping the peace.”
The protests accelerated after the Jan. 13 fatal shooting of resident Renee Good, 37, by an ICE agent as she tried to leave the scene after a verbal altercation with another agent, who tried to open her car door and who ordered her out.
She backed up, then pulled forward. A different agent said she struck him with her vehicle, although other videos from the scene appear to show her turning her wheels away from him.
A Homeland Security social media post said the fatal shooting was done in self-defense after Good “weaponized” her vehicle in an attempted to hit one of the ICE agents.
Walz and other local and state officials, joined by officials from Illinois, filed a lawsuit this week to get ICE officials to leave. On Friday, a Federal District Judge ruled that Homeland Security could not use pepper spray or other crowd-dispersing tools on peaceful protesters.
The Department of Homeland Security “is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
McLaughlin did not indicate whether the department will appeal the federal court ruling by Menendez.
Photo: Minnesota Department of Public Safety
