Grand Theft America / Receipt power-2026-01-18-106
Minnesota keeps its Guard; 1,500 federal troops stood down
Minnesota's National Guard stayed under state control—Governor Walz ordered it out himself—while the Pentagon put about 1,500 active-duty soldiers on prepare-to-deploy orders for a possible Minnesota deployment, to be used if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act. Two weeks later Northern Command stood them down; they were never deployed.
What happened
The soldiers were from the 11th Airborne Division at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, two of its infantry battalions placed on prepare-to-deploy orders. Minnesota's own Guard was described by its spokesperson as “staged and ready to respond” but was not sent to city streets. ABC News reported the stand-down on February 3, citing two U.S. officials with direct knowledge.
Why it matters
Emergency and domestic-force authorities can bypass ordinary limits and move coercive power closer to direct presidential control. It is tracked here under “Federalize the Guard over a governor's objection”; the classification describes the documented institutional risk, not a claim about motive.
Receipt details
- Phase 2
- Assert extraordinary powers
- Federalize the Guard over a governor's objection
