Trump readies 1,500 Alaska soldiers for possible Minnesota deployment

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota, according to a Trump administration source, as state officials have also mobilized the National Guard.

Having troops on standby does not mean a deployment is imminent or guaranteed, the Trump administration source said. ABC News first reported the preparations for a possible deployment.

Two battalions from the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division are on prepare-to-deploy orders in Minnesota, according to a US defense official. It is unclear what tasks they would take on, though the official said it could include crowd control or support for law enforcement, similar to the role active-duty forces played in Los Angeles last summer…(Read full story)