Some 1,500 active duty Army paratroopers have been put on alert for a potential deployment to Minnesota, according to two defense officials.The soldiers are from the 11th Airborne Division, based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, one of the Army’s premier infantry formations and a frontline force in the U.S. military presence in the Pacific, positioned to help deter China. The division is also the military’s leading formation for Arctic warfare.One official said the president had not made a final decision on whether to deploy two battalions. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Demonstrators stand in front of members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other law enforcement officials, near the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, during a protest more than a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 17, 2026.Seth Herald/Reuters”We are taking prudent steps to prepare active-duty Army forces,” the official said. “This doesn’t mean they will deploy; we are preparing options.”Meanwhile, members of the Minnesota National Guard remain on state orders under the authority of Gov. Tim Walz. It would be unusual for federalized active-duty troops and state-activated Guard forces to be deployed simultaneously and while serving under different legal frameworks. National Guard units can also be federalized and placed under the president’s command.Federal officers stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during a protest on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis.Yuki Iwamura/APPresident Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to send in the U.S. military as tensions intensified in Minneapolis following a second shooting involving a federal officer during immigration operations. However, Trump later told reporters he didn’t think there was “any reason right now to use it.”The 11th Airborne troops were recalled to base on Friday, amid the long holiday weekend, to stand by as a so-called quick reaction force, a rapid-deployment force, according to an internal notice to the unit’s leadership, reviewed by ABC News.-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Steve Beynon
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