Good morning. It is Saturday, January the 18th. I'm Ali Valshi. And if you thought tensions were already at a fever pitch in the Minneapolis area, we may be in store for yet another escalation.

Yesterday, the Minnesota governor, Tim Wallz, announced that he was placing the Minnesota

National Guard on standby, if needed, in the Minneapolis area. That's one step further than the

warning notice he issued to National Guard members hours after the killing of Renee Good.

State officials say the National Guard has not been deployed yet, but, quote, are ready to

help support public safety, including protection deployed yet, but, quote, are ready to help

support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property, and supporting the

rights of all who assemble peacefully, end quote, supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully.

So what we're seeing here is a governor potentially resorting to the National Guard

to protect his citizens from a paramilitary force that was sent by the President of the United

States. There are now estimated to be 3,000 federal officers active in Minnesota, most of them

in the Twin Cities area. That's Minneapolis and St. Paul.

That's close to the total headcount of all the sworn police officers in Minneapolis region's

10 largest law enforcement agencies, many times the size of Minneapolis's own police force.

And now yet more federal troops could be on the way.

And if you're wondering if that counts as an occupation, consider this.

The Washington Post is reporting that according to defense officials, the Pentagon has ordered

1,500 active duty United States soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota.

It's not National Guard. These are active duty military. The soldiers are assigned to two

infantry battalions with the Army's 11th Airborne Division. Deploying soldiers to our streets.

According to Bloomberg in recent days, the FBI has sent

messages to agents nationwide seeking volunteers to temporarily transfer to Minneapolis.

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