President Donald Trump accused Somali immigrants of fueling a wave of violence across Minnesota and urged residents to fight back, while pressing the states Democratic leaders to seek federal help to restore order.
The presidents warning came amid mounting concern over crime, terrorism, and fraud cases tied to Somali Americans in the state, as reported by Newsmax.
In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, Trump declared, "The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants. There is Violence, Murder, and Mayhem all over the State," portraying the situation as a direct consequence of failed leadership in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Trump argued that ordinary Minnesotans have been abandoned by their elected officials and must reassert control over their communities.
"The people of Minnesota must fight back. You have been robbed, and abandoned by your State Government," he wrote, casting the states political establishment as complicit in the deterioration of public safety.
The president reserved some of his harshest language for Gov. Tim Walz, accusing him of corruption and cowardice in the face of rising disorder.
"Your Governor is an incompetent thief who doesn't want to get involved. He just wants to get out of town with as much as he can steal, and then, lead a quiet life," Trump charged, framing Walz as more interested in personal gain than in protecting citizens.
Trumps comments followed a chilling federal announcement that authorities had disrupted an alleged ISIS-inspired plot targeting one of the nations largest shopping centers.
According to federal officials, 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, a Minnesota resident of Somali descent who was born in the United States, allegedly planned to kill dozens of people during an Oct. 24 event at the Mall of America.
The foiled plot has intensified scrutiny of radicalization risks within segments of the Somali American community, even as many local leaders insist such cases represent a small minority.
Law enforcement sources say the case underscores the need for aggressive counterterrorism and intelligence operations, particularly when threats involve high-profile civilian targets like major retail hubs.
On Thursday, concerns about public safety extended beyond terrorism to more routine but deadly street crime.
Axios reported that representatives from roughly 40 Twin Cities law enforcement agencies were preparing to coordinate a regional response to gang violence after investigators linked a series of shootings to Somali American gangs.
Local Somali community members, however, voiced fears that such developments could fuel broad-brush stereotyping and collective blame.
They argue that the vast majority of Somali Minnesotans are law-abiding residents who want safe neighborhoods and economic opportunity, not criminal chaos or extremist ideology.
Federal prosecutors have also been pursuing fraud cases involving Minnesota public assistance programs, adding another layer to the controversy.
The Trump administration disclosed earlier this year that 85 of 98 defendants charged in several investigations were of Somali descent, though some of those cases originated before Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
For Trump and his supporters, those numbers highlight what they see as systemic abuse of taxpayer-funded benefits and a failure of vetting and enforcement.
They contend that lax oversight, combined with progressive policies on immigration and welfare, has created fertile ground for both criminal exploitation and political radicalism.
In his Truth Social post, Trump insisted that the Somali-linked crime wave must be confronted directly and without apology.
"The Somalians should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing. They view you as weak and stupid people," he wrote, urging Minnesotans to reject what he described as a culture of appeasement.
He then called on residents to stand firm and promised that Washington would back them if state and local leaders refused to act.
"Fight back Minnesota, fight back! If you need, the Federal Government will come to your rescue," Trump continued, framing federal intervention as a last line of defense for citizens abandoned by their own government.
Trump explicitly demanded that the states top Democrats formally request federal assistance and then step aside.
"Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, must immediately ask for Federal help and leave the rest to us!" he wrote, signaling his readiness to deploy federal resources over the objections of progressive officials.
Walz and Frey have a history of conflict with the Trump administration, particularly over Operation Metro Surge, which sent additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol personnel into the Twin Cities.
Both Democrats opposed using local law enforcement to assist in federal civil immigration enforcement, reflecting the broader left-wing push to limit cooperation with ICE and to shield certain noncitizens from removal.
Tensions escalated sharply after federal officers fatally shot two protesters in separate incidents in January, incidents that became rallying points for critics of Trumps law-and-order agenda.
Following those shootings, Trump spoke by phone with Walz and Frey, and the administration subsequently scaled back its federal enforcement footprint in the region while assigning border czar Tom Homan to coordinate remaining operations in Minnesota.
Even as enforcement tactics shifted, the administration moved to tighten oversight of federal dollars flowing into the state.
A White House task force led by Vice President JD Vance is now examining allegations of fraud involving federal programs in Minnesota and other states, a move conservatives see as long overdue accountability for mismanaged or exploited welfare systems.
Democratic officials in Minnesota have responded to Trumps latest remarks with anger, accusing him of stoking division and targeting an entire community for the actions of a few.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat and longtime progressive figure, denounced Trumps call for federal rescue by invoking the earlier enforcement operations.
"We've seen what Trump's government coming to 'rescue' looks like. It ended with two Minnesotans shot dead by federal agents, racial profiling, assaults, and the violation of our rights," Ellison wrote in a post on X, framing federal intervention as a civil rights threat rather than a public safety solution.
"Never again. If Trump tries, I'll drag him back to court. Somali Minnesotans are our neighbors. They are part of Minnesota. And the Minnesota I know and love is so much better than this bigotry," he added, defending the community and vowing legal resistance.
The clash over Minnesota encapsulates a broader national divide over immigration, assimilation, and the proper role of the federal government in enforcing law and order.
Trump and his allies argue that refusing to confront crime, extremism, and fraud tied to specific immigrant communities only emboldens bad actors and leaves vulnerable citizens at risk, while progressive leaders emphasize inclusion and civil rights even as serious security concerns emerge.
As federal investigations continue and local agencies grapple with gang violence and terror threats, Minnesotans are left to weigh competing visions of security and community.
Whether Walz and Frey ultimately seek federal assistanceor double down on resisting Trumps approachwill determine not only the immediate response to crime and fraud, but also whether the state remains a testing ground for the clash between conservative enforcement priorities and progressive identity politics.
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