Pentagon orders 1,500 troops to standby for Minnesota deployment amid Twin Cities protests

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, as the state National Guard is mobilized amid ongoing protests and federal immigration actions. Two battalions from the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division are on prepare-to-deploy orders, though officials say deployment isn’t guaranteed and the National Guard is not yet on city streets. The move comes as demonstrations in Minneapolis continue around immigration enforcement, including the death of Renee Good, with related legal challenges and a federal court ruling restricting certain federal crowd-control measures and investigations into state leaders.