Prepare to Deploy

With 1,500 troops waiting on the tarmac, the White House prepares to use the military to shield an ICE agent from Minnesota prosecutors.

[Speaker 1]: When DHS agents called 911 on the morning of January 7th, they didn’t report a shooting involving civilians. They didn’t ask for the Minneapolis Police Department to come help mediate a situation with residents. [Speaker 2]: The specific phrase they used on the radio was, quote, "shots fired by our locals." [Speaker 1]: "Our locals." Like they were referencing an insurgency in a foreign country, rather than the citizens of the city they were standing in. [Speaker 2]: And that language tells you everything you need to know about what’s happening in Minneapolis right now. Because today, we aren’t just looking at a disputed shooting or another wave of protests. We are looking at the legal mechanics of how the President might use the military to bypass a murder investigation. [Speaker 1]: The Department of Defense has tapped a very specific unit for this potential deployment-the 11th Airborne Division out of Alaska. [Speaker 2]: Which is a choice that signals this isn't about crowd control. It’s about something else entirely. [Speaker 1]: It’s Thursday, January 22, 2026, and you’re listening to The Angle. [Speaker 2]: Let’s start with where we are this morning. Because the temperature in Minneapolis is dropping, both literally and figuratively. [Speaker 1]: Right now, the city is frozen in a standoff. It has been 15 days since ICE Agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good. And as of this morning, the Pentagon has placed 1,500 active-duty troops on "prepare-to-deploy" orders. [Speaker 2]: That means they are packed, they are briefed, and they are waiting for the final word to board transport planes. But the core conflict here isn't just about boots on the ground. It’s a jurisdictional war between the State of Minnesota and the Federal Government. [Speaker 1]: On one side, you have Governor Walz. His argument is that Renee Good’s death is a local homicide case, the protests are a state-managed crisis, and he has the situation under control. [Speaker 2]: On the other side, you have the White House and DHS Secretary Noem. Their argument is that Minneapolis has become a "lawless" sanctuary city where federal agents are under siege. They argue the local government has "lost control," and therefore, the President has the authority-and the duty-to send in the U.S. Military to restore order. [Speaker 1]: So the question we have to answer is this: Is the Pentagon preparing to save a city from chaos? Or are they creating a shield to protect a federal agent from facing a jury? [Speaker 2]: To understand why the military is involved at all, we have to look at the narrative the White House is building. They are operating under what you might call a "siege mentality." [Speaker 1]: And that didn't start with the shooting two weeks ago. This goes back to December, when DHS launched "Operation Metro Surge." They flooded the Twin Cities with about 3,000 federal agents. [Speaker 2]: The context here is critical. The Minneapolis Police Department-the MPD-is currently prohibited from assisting with federal immigration enforcement. So federal agents feel isolated. They feel like they are operating behind enemy lines. [Speaker 1]: And specifically for Agent Ross, the man who pulled the trigger, there is a history. Six months ago, in June of 2025, he was dragged by a vehicle during an arrest in Bloomington. [Speaker 2]: That is a traumatic event. And the administration argues that trauma informs what happened on January 7th. Their claim is that when Agent Ross saw Renee Good’s car, he didn't see a 37-year-old legal observer. He saw a deadly weapon. [Speaker…