As the protests continue in Minneapolis and local lawmakers continue to encourage the chaos, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, says President Trump has the authority under the insurrection act to deploy federal troops if warranted.
On Newsmax's Chris Salcedo show, Paxton telling the host, that Trump "certainly has the right" to invoke the Insurrection Act in situations where "there's domestic violence, if there's armed conflict with a state or with people in that state that the state refuses to put down." He also said the provision could apply if a state government fails to act in the face of violence or lawlessness or if actions occur against ICE operations. Former presidents George H.W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy all invoked the Insurrection Act, Paxton said
"It's been used when there's out-of-control states who aren't enforcing state and federal laws," Paxton said.
Trump threatened Thursday he would consider the Insurrection Act and deploy troops amid protests in Minneapolis over federal immigration enforcement.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota politicians "don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job."
The 1807 law allows presidents to deploy the military domestically during civil unrest.