Tech billionaire Elon Musk called on President Donald Trump to deploy U.S. military forces domestically, posting on X as protests continued in Minneapolis over ongoing federal immigration raids.
"Time to invoke the Insurrection Act," Musk wrote in response to a post by another account that outlined the 218-year-old law's purpose and uses.
"Look I just described Minnesota," Insurrection Barbie said after providing examples of the rebellions and uprisings the law was designed to quash.
Musk's comment came as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents continued high-visibility operations in and around Minneapolis, drawing nightly demonstrations and clashes near the downtown federal building.
Tensions have flared between protesters and federal authorities since Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent earlier this month, becoming a flashpoint for the current unrest.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has criticized the federal buildup, and state lawyers have explored court challenges to the deployment.
The Insurrection Act is one of the few statutes that allow a president to use active-duty troops for domestic law enforcement.
"In all cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws, either of the United States, or of any individual state or territory, where it is lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection, or of causing the laws to be duly executed, it shall be lawful for him to employ, for the same purposes, such part of the land or naval force of the United States, as shall be judged necessary, having first observed all the prerequisites of the law in that respect," the act reads.
Congress passed the law in 1807, giving presidents the authority to deploy federal forces to suppress rebellion, enforce federal law when it is being blocked, or protect constitutional rights when states cannot or will not act.
Seventeen U.S. presidents have invoked the Insurrection Act about 30 times in U.S. history, including during Reconstruction, to enforce desegregation in the 1950s and 1960s, and to respond to major unrest, including the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
The last confirmed invocation was in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush sent troops to help restore order after the Rodney King verdict, a precedent often cited when modern presidents weigh the statute's reach.
Trump has argued that protests interfering with federal operations could meet the law's threshold, and he has signaled he may federalize National Guard units or send troops if Minnesota leaders do not "stop the violence."
Legal scholars warn the law's broad language gives presidents wide discretion, raising concerns that invoking it amid immigration enforcement could escalate, rather than calm, a confrontation between Washington and a state.
In Minneapolis, protesters say the administration's surge of agents — reported to be in the thousands — has created an "occupation" atmosphere, while Trump allies counter that federal officers are under attack and need backup.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.