“I've issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed, if necessary," Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz threatened Wednesday, denouncing the federal government’s efforts to enforce U.S. immigration law in his state.
“Gov. Tim Walz has suggested that he might call out the National Guard to protect citizens from the federal government. His antebellum notions of state authority went out of style in the 1860s. Just ask Jefferson Davis...,” George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley noted in a social media post reacting to Walz's threat.
Gov. Walz made the apparent threat during a press conference following the death of a Minnesota anti-immigration enforcement protester who was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent as she, according to video of the incident, drove her vehicle into the agent.
“[O]fficers tugged at the driver's side door handle and the woman began driving toward an ICE agent standing in front of her SUV,” according to a Fox News report:
“The SUV appeared to have hit the ICE agent as he fired multiple shots into the front of the vehicle.
“The agent was then seen limping toward the woman's SUV, which sped off and crashed into cars parked on the side of the street.”
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that the driver attempted to “weaponized her vehicle” in an act of “domestic terrorism,” Gov. Walz demonized and denounced the federal government’s immigration enforcement in his state.
"I have a very simple message: We do not need any further help from the federal government,” Gov. Walz said:
"To (President) Donald Trump and (DHS Secretary) Kristi Noem: You've done enough."
"I've issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed, if necessary," Gov. Walz threatened.
"Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight," Gov. Walz said.
“These National Guard troops are our National Guard troops,” Walz added, in apparent defiance of the authority of the federal government to enforce federal law in his state.
DEM GOV. TIM WALZ: "I have a very simple message: We do not need any further help from the federal government."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 7, 2026
"To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: You've done enough."
"I've issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared… pic.twitter.com/zWpwQIERuF
