Pentagon readies 1,500 troops for potential Minnesota deployment

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the site of large protests against the government's deportation drive, two U.S. officials ‌told Reuters on Sunday. If U.S. troops are deployed, it is unclear whether the Trump administration would invoke the Insurrection Act, which gives the president the power to deploy the military or federalize National Guard troops to quell domestic uprisings. "The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander in chief if called upon," said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, using the Trump administration's preferred name for the Department of Defense.