Trump Threatens Insurrection Act, Mahmoud Khalil Faces Setback, Twiggs Family Speaks: AM Update 1/16

0:02Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Friday, January 16th, 2026. And this is your AM update. This kind of violence is perpetuated by what we hear the governor saying, what we hear the mayor is saying, and their irresponsibility is extremely reckless. President Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota as violent rioters are encouraged by state and local leadership. Columbia student agitator Mahmoud Khalil is still here, but the ruling that secured his release has now been overturned. If your legal advisor tells you that an order is illegal, where you refuse to carry out that order.

0:39Two nominees for key national security positions appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee as Democrats maintain their focus on their campaign against illegal orders. And a family member of Lance Twiggs, the roommate and alleged boyfriend of Tyler Robinson, speaks out about Twiggs' role in the Charlie Kirk murder. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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1:51Find out more at guardyourcard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. President Trump threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to send in the military to subdue violent and obstructive protesting activity, causing repeated clashes with federal immigration authorities. The threat coming after a Wednesday ambush on an ICE agent, which saw three illegals attacking the agent, in response to which the agent shot one attacker in the leg. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday on Fox describing the lead-up to the shooting. Our agents were out doing what they're doing every single day across this country is they were doing targeted enforcement, going after individuals that are breaking federal law.

2:35When this individual drove away, crashed his car, tried to run into a home, and as they were wrestling on the ground trying to detain this individual, two other men came out of that building and started attacking him with weapons and shovels and brooms. And as it was three on one, the agent feared for his life and defensively had to take action. But, you know, this kind of violence is perpetuated by what we hear the governor saying, what we hear the mayor in Minneapolis saying, and their irresponsibility is extremely reckless. Secretary Noem reporting the agent is bruised and injured, saying DHS is thankful he's still alive.

3:12Our source at DHS telling AM Update the agent was, quote, beat up pretty bad, end quote, with lacerations, bruising, and an injury to his leg. DHS releasing information on the three illegals accused of participating in the attack. Julio Solis, the target of the operation and man who was shot in the leg, photographed smiling in the ambulance. Solis is reportedly here illegally from Venezuela, arriving in 2022. He has a previous conviction for driving without a license and an arrest for giving a fake name to a peace officer. Alfredo Ahorna, also here illegally from Venezuela, entering in May 2023, a judge issuing a final order of removal when he failed to show up for immigration proceedings.

3:58And criminal illegal alien Gabriel Ledesma arriving here in 2023 from, you guessed it, Venezuela. LaDezma reportedly marked by the Biden administration as a non-priority for removal. Way to screw that one up, Gabe. Shoulda stayed out of it. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry, both Democrats, reacting to the shooting by blaming the feds for the chaos. This, as the sanctuary city in a sanctuary state, Minneapolis, does not allow local law enforcement to assist federal immigration agents. As news of the shooting spread, tensions in Minnesota inflaming further. Mayor Frye on Wednesday night issuing this backhanded plea to protesters.

4:42So let's be very clear. I've seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. If it were your city, it would be unacceptable there too. And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. By the end of the night, protesters vandalizing multiple vehicles used by federal agents. One spray painting a car believed to have been used by a federal agent with the words, quote, the only good agent is a dead one. On Wednesday night, one protester breaking into an agent's vehicle, stealing a firearm. Borders are Tom Homan yesterday on Fox with the epilogue to that act of stupidity. Just before I got in front of the camera, my security team advised me that the person that stole that farm last night, is now wearing a set of handcuffs in custody.

5:32So I was just advising that before I got in the camera. So, and there's others, others are coming. So they're going to be held accountable. President Trump taking to Truth Social yesterday morning, quote, if the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the patriots of ICE, who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the Insurrection Act, which many presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great state. Secretary Noem yesterday publicly urging Governor Walz multiple times to cooperate with the feds, the secretary describing her last phone call with the governor on Fox.

6:15When was the last time you called the governor, Governor Walz? Oh, I talked to him just a couple of days ago. I said, sir, listen, Tim, you know the situation, what's going on. We are enforcing federal law. If you don't like the laws, go change them, but don't do it by giving place to these protesters and rioters that are perpetuating violence. And I said, you have my personal cell phone. You call me. If you need me, you call me. We will be there to help back you up, but protect your city, protect your state. And he paused for a few seconds and he just said, yeah, okay. We have very different viewpoints of what's going on.

6:48I said, maybe we do, but we will be here if you need us, because that's our goal every day is to keep people safe. Secretary Noem saying the president is actively considering the use of the Insurrection Act, which could mean the military will go to Minneapolis. Meanwhile, the administration dealing with some recent polling on who Americans think was to blame in the shooting death of ice agitator Renee Good. Three recent surveys put the percentage of adults who believe the shooting was unjustified at 53 percent. Mostly Democrats and independents, over two-thirds of Republicans, support the ICE officer.

7:22The press has been overwhelmingly critical of ICE, leading to this moment yesterday at the White House press briefing between Caroline Levitt and The Hill's Niall Stanich. 32 people died in ICE custody last year. 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE, and Renee Good was shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent. How does that equate to them doing everything correctly? Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed? Are you asking me my opinion? Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed it unjustified. Oh, okay. So you're a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion. You're a left-wing hack.

7:59You're not a reporter. You're posing in this room as a journalist. And it's so clear by the premise of your question. And you and the people in the media who have such biases but fake, like you're a journalist, you shouldn't even be sitting in that seat. Do you have the numbers of how many American citizens were killed at the hands of illegal aliens who ICE is trying to remove from this country? I bet you don't. I bet you didn't even read up on those stories. I bet you never even read about Lake and Riley or Jocelyn Nungray or all of the innocent Americans who were killed at the hands of illegal aliens in this country.

8:28And shame on people like you in the media who have a crooked view and have a biased view and pretend like you're a real honest journalist. Secretary Noem yesterday saying ICE's work in Minnesota arresting and removing the worst criminals, including child rapists, will continue. New year, new legal setback for Columbia University student agitator Mahmoud Khalil's bid to resist deportation as he remains in America. The third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia ruling two to one that a New Jersey district court judge lacked jurisdiction when he ordered Khalil's release from an ICE detention facility in Louisiana last June.

9:11ICE agents arresting Khalil last March, the Trump administration moving to remove him despite his student visa and a green card, under a law that states, quote,

9:32Secretary of State Marco Rubio making that determination in Khalil's case, citing his role as a student negotiator for the Columbia University Apartheid Divest Group. That group reportedly sympathizing with terrorist organizations, including Hamas, and calling for, quote, the end of Western civilization while occupying Colombia's campus, illegally seizing academic buildings, and demanding the university cut ties with Israel. Following his arrest by ICE, the DOJ transferring Khalil to an ICE detention center in Louisiana, where he was held pending removal proceedings. Under federal law, immigration proceedings are handled by the executive branch, not the judiciary.

10:14An immigration judge first determines removability. That ruling can be challenged in front of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Only after a final order of removal can the case then move to a federal appellate court. However, Khalil's legal team instead turning immediately to the district court in New Jersey, filing a separate petition challenging the legality of his detention while his immigration case was still pending. That case, assigned to Biden-appointed judge Michael Farbiars, who ordered Khalil's release with travel restrictions while the case proceeded. The Trump administration challenging that order as coming from a court that lacked jurisdiction, bringing us to yesterday's appeals court ruling agreeing with Team Trump, finding the federal District Court had no authority to intervene in ongoing removal proceedings in immigration court and ordering Khalil's petition to be dismissed.

11:12The judge is writing, quote, the district court lacked jurisdiction over Khalil's removal proceedings. George W. Bush-appointed judge Thomas Hardiman and Trump-appointed judge Stephanos Bibas stressing that Congress set up a process giving non-citizens, quote, just one bite at the apple to challenge their removal in the federal district court system, requiring Khalil to work through the established immigration removal process in the executive branch before as a last-ditch effort filing an appeal before a federal circuit court of appeal. In her dissent, Biden appointed Judge Ariana Freeman, determining Khalil showed he experienced irreparable harm during his detention, concluding while quoting Supreme Court precedent, quote, It is most unlikely that Congress intended to foreclose all forms of meaningful judicial review over his claims.

12:03Khalil releasing a statement through the ACLU, which reads, The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine or to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination until my rights and the rights of others like me are fully protected. We asked Article 3 Project founder, attorney Mike Davis, if he believes this case could go all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court does not need to take this case because the Third Circuit Court of Appeals with Judge Hardiman and Judge Beavis' opinion got the law right.

12:42Now, if there is a circuit split, meaning if another federal appellate court rules differently than the Third Circuit, then the Supreme Court is more likely to take the case. If this same immigrant files a habeas petition in another district, in another circuit, maybe he creates a circuit split. Who knows? These Democrat plaintiffs and Democrat attorneys and Democrat judges certainly know how to play their games to sabotage the will of the American people. Davis describes what effects this ruling will have on other immigration cases. My unsolicited advice to the Trump administration is to house these immigrants in Delaware, New Jersey or Pennsylvania before their deportation, because these three states are bound by this federal appellate court ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

13:38Coming up, Democrats warning again about unnamed, unspecified illegal orders, this time in a hearing for two prominent national security positions. And a family member of Charlie Kirk's accused killer's boyfriend speaks out.

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15:11The focus coming after a group of six Democrats, some of whom sit on the Armed Services Committee, released an unsolicited video months ago, urging members of the military to disobey unlawful orders. Trump officials accusing those lawmakers of sowing confusion and chaos within the ranks, or at least trying to. Those lawmakers insisting they're simply stating the law. Army Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd, nominated to head the National Security Agency, and Marine Corps Lieutenant General Francis Donovan, nominated to lead U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for military operations across Central and South America, plus the Caribbean, remaining stoic throughout the hearing.

15:52U.S. Senator from Michigan, Democrat Alyssa Slatkin, one of the participants in the unlawful orders video, and possibly the most annoying member of the U.S. Senate, who never misses an opportunity to tell us she worked in intelligence, which she appears to think means she outranks all members of the military, pressing Lieutenant General Rudd about a hypothetical scenario. Can you answer for me if If the Secretary of Defense or the President of the United States asks you to put NSA or military intel personnel, people or tools or assets targeted at American citizens who don't have a link to a foreign terrorist organization, will you reject that?

16:36Senator, if confirmed, I will execute my responsibilities in accordance with the Constitution and all applicable laws. There is just a ton of law. saying that we cannot wiretap, using the layman's term, American citizens' communications just for expressing their freedom of speech. We couldn't be more clear. And as a CIA officer, coming in years and years after Watergate, that was drilled into us, that we never turned the intelligence community against the American people. U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Democrat Elizabeth Warren, repeatedly pressing Lieutenant General Donovan on illegal orders.

17:15I'm just asking a very straightforward question. You tell me you have questioned orders in the past about their legality. Is that right? Senator, I have questioned orders when either one, I didn't understand, I wasn't equipped to carry them out, and I needed clarity before I can actually execute those orders. But you've never questioned whether an order was legal. You've never wondered whether or not an order is legal and sought additional counsel on that? Senator, in our planning processes, I always have a legal advisor at my side. General Donovan, if your legal advisor tells you that an order is illegal, will you refuse to carry out that order?

17:52I will take that very seriously if my legal advisor says that is an illegal order, and I will seek clarification from higher headquarters. Okay. And if somebody higher says no, what are you going to do at that point? Senator, then I make a decision using 37 years' experience to carry out that order or not. Then she took a hit off her peace pipe and walked barefoot to her teepee. On the other side, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, Republican from Arkansas, chiding Democrats for their focus on this topic. I had to step out for a few other commitments. And I can't get back and be here for fewer than two minutes without hearing the Democrats talk about illegal orders.

18:32So, General Donovan, I would like to ask you, have you ever received an illegal order? No, Senator. And you're a pretty high-speed Marine, as I understand it. You've been out on the front a lot in your lifetime. So from the time you were Lieutenant Donovan to the time now where you've got three stars and you're about to add a fourth, no one has ever given you an illegal order. No, Senator. Well, it seems to me that our military does a very good job of training our troops from the time they enlist as privates or the time they commission as lieutenants all the way up to your level and to the commander-in-chief not to issue illegal orders.

19:14General Rudd also confirming he has never received an illegal order throughout his time in the service. Both men likely to sail through the confirmation process, though a vote is not yet scheduled. A family member of Lance Twiggs, the alleged so-called transgender furry boyfriend of accused Charlie Kirk killer Tyler Robinson speaking out for the first time in an interview with NewsNation. Robinson and 22-year-old Twiggs shared an apartment in Utah prior to the murder. Authorities in September reporting Twiggs was cooperating with the investigation. DA Jeffrey Gray publicly disclosing what he says are messages between the two from the hours after the shooting, in which Robinson confesses to the killing.

19:59After Robinson wrote to Twiggs that he had taken the opportunity to take Charlie out, Twiggs responding, quote, what? You're joking, right? Robinson replies, quote, I am still okay, my love, but I'm stuck in Orem for a little while longer yet. Twiggs asking, quote, you weren't the one who did it, right? Robinson replying, quote, I am. I'm sorry. In the following weeks, multiple outlets reporting Twiggs' location was unknown. Now, a female family member appearing in Silhouette on NewsNation, shedding light on Twiggs' whereabouts. For the first few weeks, because there were so many threats against his family and him, my understanding is they did have a little bit of FBI detail and they kind of moved around a little bit, but they're not anymore.

20:48He's with his family. Twiggs' relative disputing accounts of his cooperation, saying he did not come forward on his own. Will he still cooperate with the investigation from what you know? You know, I don't know. You know, when I first found out about how he was taken in and talked to by the police, that, you know, I know that they said that he was very cooperative, but they had to go get him and bring him in. He didn't voluntarily go in and say, hey, I heard about this and I have some knowledge. You know, he had to go in. Then he handed things over when they asked for him. But he didn't give up any information until he had to.

21:29The relative describing Twiggs and Robinson as, quote, so smart with so much potential, noting Twiggs is a gifted concert pianist. She says the two went down a dark path in the online world. What do you think changed? I don't, you know, and then being as antisocial as they were, from my understanding of, you know, playing these games and being a part of this Discord group. You know, it just, they didn't seem like they were in a real world. The relative stating she is 100 % certain authorities have the correct suspect with Tyler Robinson. Robinson's set to appear in court later today. And that'll do it for your AM Update.

22:12I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show, live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel, 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.