Army Orders MPs to Ready for Deployment01/22 06:14

   The U.S. Army has ordered several dozen additional active-duty soldiers to 
prepare for a possible deployment to Minneapolis if needed, a defense official 
said Wednesday, amid protests over the Trump administration's immigration 
enforcement crackdown.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Army has ordered several dozen additional 
active-duty soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minneapolis if 
needed, a defense official said Wednesday, amid protests over the Trump 
administration's immigration enforcement crackdown.

   The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss 
sensitive plans, confirmed that members of an Army military police brigade who 
are stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina have been given prepare-to-deploy 
orders.

   If deployed, the troops would likely offer support to civil authorities in 
Minneapolis, according to the official, who stressed that such standby orders 
are issued regularly and they do not necessarily mean that the troops would end 
up going.

   About 1,500 active-duty soldiers from the Army's 11th Airborne Division 
based in Alaska also have received similar standby orders. President Donald 
Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century 
law that would allow him to use active-duty troops as law enforcement.

   That threat followed protests that erupted in Minneapolis after a federal 
immigration officer killed resident Renee Good on Jan. 7. Trump quickly 
appeared to walk back the threat, telling reporters a day later that there 
wasn't a reason to use the act "right now."

   "If I needed it, I'd use it," Trump said. "It's very powerful."

   When asked about the latest orders, which were reported earlier by MS Now, 
the Pentagon said it didn't have information to provide at this time.

   Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and frequent target of Trump, has urged 
the president to refrain from sending in more troops and, in a statement 
Tuesday, invited him to visit Minnesota and "help restore calm and order and 
reaffirm that true public safety comes from shared purpose, trust, and respect."

   In his second term, Trump has pushed traditional boundaries by using troops 
in American cities, often over the objections of local officials, amid federal 
operations targeting illegal immigration and crime.

   Trump deployed federalized National Guard troops to Los Angeles last June 
after protesters took to the streets in response to a blitz of immigration 
arrests. Ultimately, he sent about 4,000 Guard members and 700 active-duty 
Marines to guard federal buildings and, later, to protect federal agents as 
they carried out immigration arrests.

   He also mobilized Guard troops in places like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, 
but has faced a series of legal setbacks. Trump said in December that he was 
dropping that push for the time being.