Michael Hernandez
13 January 2026•Update: 14 January 2026
WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump warned that "reckoning and retribution" is coming to the US state of Minnesota, where activists incensed by the killing of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent have continued to demand the agency leave.
Trump claimed that "every place" he has sent federal agents into has seen a drop in crime, alleging that Democrats in Minnesota "love the unrest that anarchists and professional agitators are causing because it gets the spotlight off of the 19 Billion Dollars that was stolen by really bad and deranged people."
"Fear not, great people of Minnesota, the day of reckoning & retribution is coming!" he added in a post on his Truth Social platform.
It is unclear what he was referring to with his suggestion that a "reckoning" is coming to the midwestern state.
Minnesota and its two largest cities – Minneapolis and St. Paul – filed a lawsuit Monday against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, to end what they called a "federal invasion" of their state.
The lawsuit seeks to stop the "unprecedented surge" of more than 2,000 federal agents deployed by Homeland Security officials, which it says resulted in the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three children, by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, and what local officials have classified as countless claims of civil rights abuses.
Later, Trump told CBS News that Good was likely a “very solid, wonderful person” under normal circumstances, but her behavior during the encounter was “pretty tough.”
“I've seen it many ways, in many different shapes and forms,” Trump said. “We have hundreds of thousands of murderers in our country, killers. ICE is trying to get them out.”
Trump administration officials have claimed that Good was attempting to ram the agent when she was fatally shot, though state and local officials, as well as the thousands of demonstrators who have taken to the streets nationwide, dispute the assertion.
Monday's filing also accuses the Trump administration of violating the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution by superseding Minnesota’s right to police itself, which the lawsuit classifies as "a federal invasion of the Twin Cities."
"This operation is driven by nothing more than the Trump Administration’s desire to punish political opponents and score partisan points—at the direct expense of Plaintiffs’ residents. Defendants’ actions appear designed to provoke community outrage, sow fear, and inflict emotional distress," the suit continues.
Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and CBP Cmdr. Greg Bovino.
"Defendants’ agents’ reckless tactics endanger the public safety, health, and welfare of all Minnesotans," according to the lawsuit, which adds that federal enforcement has fueled fear in the community.
"The unlawful tactics used by Defendants’ agents have left members of Plaintiffs’ communities afraid to shop, go to work, attend school, access basic government services, or otherwise live their lives."
*Rabia Iclal Tura contributed to his report
