Troops Stand By For Minnesota, Greenland NATO Tensions, Gaza Peace Board

0:02Minnesota is becoming the front line of resistance to federal immigration crackdowns. Up to 1 ,500 active duty troops are on standby after President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to suppress protests. I'm Michelle Martin. That's Steve Inskeep. And this is Up First from NPR News. The White House plans to use tariffs to pressure NATO allies to make a deal for the purchase of Greenland. How far is the president willing to push America's closest partners? Also, the president is inviting world leaders to join a new board of peace to secure conflict zones, apparently not just Gaza.

0:36NPR obtained a copy of the charter, which asks other countries to pay billions to join the board permanently and gives Trump sweeping, seemingly permanent, authority. What does Israel think? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

0:57This year on NPR's ThruLine, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. For centuries, America's pursuit has changed the world. Now, 250 years later, who are we? Where are we headed? Join us every Tuesday for a brand new series, America in Pursuit. On ThruLine. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. On Ye Gods with Scott Carter, hear from the faithful. I told my very Catholic mother that she needs to meet Jesus. The faithless. I just so don't believe in God. And the fearless. Serve people, connect with people. That's how we thrive. If life's a mystery we investigate, whodunit. I pray to the humor God.

1:40Listen religiously to ye gods with Scott Carter wherever you get your podcasts. NPR's podcast Trump's Terms is your source for same-day updates on big news about the Trump administration. Short, focused episodes, one topic at a time, about five minutes or so. We carry out reporting from across all of NPR's coverage, so you are always getting the biggest, most urgent stories. Listen to Trump's terms on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Minnesota protesters spent a cold weekend on the streets confronting immigration agents, and President Trump's administration spent the weekend escalating pressure.

2:17Up to 1 ,500 active-duty troops are on standby for possible deployment there. A U.S. official tells our colleague Tom Bowman that the troops are from the 11th Airborne Division. They're based in Alaska and trained to operate in cold weather. The president has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to justify sending troops to perform tasks typically performed by law enforcement. Those were just some of the administration moves over the weekend. And Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters is here. Clay, good morning. Good morning. What else did the administration do? We learned that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walls and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry.

2:54Both Walls and Fry have been loud opponents of ICE's increased presence in the state, especially the tactics in Minneapolis since the fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Walls, who announced a couple weeks ago he was dropping his bid for re-election, said weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is an authoritarian tactic. And here's Mayor Jacob Fry on CBS's Face the Nation yesterday. We are doing everything possible to keep the peace, notwithstanding this occupying force that has quite literally invaded our city. And President Trump has said he might use the Insurrection Act in Minnesota.

3:32He refined that threat a bit on Friday when asked by reporters about it. He said he would use it if he needed it, but he didn't see any reason right now to use it. Okay, given that, where do these 1 ,500 troops fit in? I mean, we should be clear that the troops are on standby, and this comes as Governor Walz has directed the Minnesota National Guard to prepare for possible deployment to assist local law enforcement and emergency management agencies. It really remains to be seen what that would look like to have two units potentially receiving conflicting orders. Okay, so we'll keep watching that.

4:05Hasn't happened yet. But where do things stand with the shooting of Renee Macklin Goode? Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Fox News Sunday that the Justice Department investigates when it's appropriate to do so, but that's not the case here, he said, when an ICE agent fatally shot Macklin Good on January 7th. The DOJ blocked Minnesota from accessing evidence and witnesses, so the state has their own investigation going on. You might remember, too, that six federal prosecutors in the state resigned last week over the DOJ's push to investigate Macklin Good's widow. And I also want to note there was a ruling issued late Friday by a federal judge that prohibits agents from retaliating against people who engage in peaceful, unobtrusive protest activity.

4:51Okay, so federal agents are finding more and more people to investigate, just not the agents who shot Renee Macklin Good three times. I know Democrats are unhappy about that, but what power do they have? I mean, aside from public denouncements about the presence of more than 2 ,000 federal immigration agents in the state, there's not a lot they can do. Attorney General Keith Ellison in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul sued, calling it an unconstitutional federal invasion, violating the First and Tenth Amendments. Governor Walz has asked Minnesotans to continue to peacefully document how ICE agents are interacting with the public.

5:26And on Fox News Sunday, Blanche pushed back. You saw the governor and the mayor actively encouraging, encouraging criminals to go out on the street and impede ICE. That is not allowed under our law. I mean, there are legal channels they're pursuing in federal courts, but as far as political options, it's still, you know, months until the midterm elections in November. Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters, thanks so much. You're welcome.

5:58President Trump is escalating tensions across Europe with new comments about the United States acquiring Greenland. The president has renewed his demand to take the island, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. He has said that the U.S. needs it for national security, although Greenland is already defended by the U.S. as part of a NATO nation. Last week, NATO allies sent troops to participate in military exercises in Greenland. Trump responded by announcing plans to place tariffs on goods that Americans import from those allies. On Sunday, those eight nations convened an emergency meeting and warned of a, quote, dangerous downward spiral for transatlantic relations.

6:35All this came just as a U.S. congressional delegation was wrapping up a tour in Denmark. NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt joins us now from Copenhagen. Hi there, Barbara. Hi, Steve. Who went and why? Well, it was a bipartisan group. It skewed heavily towards Democrats. But Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said we shouldn't take the lack of Republicans there as an indicator for a lack of their support, saying this delegation came together rather quickly. And the goal was to de-escalate a tense situation. OK, so what are they saying about the president's demands for Greenland then?

7:12Well, I spoke with Democratic Senator Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire. She said the president has shown a lack of understanding about the importance of allies to U.S. security. Anything that the president does to undermine those relationships, to undermine NATO, does nothing but give Vladimir Putin in Russia and President Xi in China reasons to celebrate. And you can bet they're celebrating now. This has prompted commentary about the end of NATO, if the president were to go through, in some fashion, waging a military strike against a NATO ally. But the president has made this argument about Russia and China, saying the United States effectively has to get there first.

7:55What do lawmakers say about that? Many times this weekend, Steve, lawmakers said that they hadn't received any intelligence about this idea that Russia and China are encircling Greenland and posing an imminent threat. And as to national security for the United States, they point out that there is already cooperation between the Kingdom of Denmark and the U.S. And the U.S., in fact, as you said, already has a military presence in Greenland. And a military commitment to Greenland under NATO's Article 5, an attack on Greenland would be considered an attack on the United States. So the U.S. is already in position to defend it.

8:28But what do people in Denmark say about the idea of losing this territory? Well, there was a massive demonstration on Saturday. Thousands of people marched to the U.S. embassy. It was peaceful, but there was a lot of passion. I saw a lot of Greenland flags. I saw a lot of red hats that said, make America go away. Charlotte Holm, who's from Copenhagen and has family in Greenland, said she's worried about what happens to NATO if Trump gets what he wants. If we go across that line, there's no going back. You can't put the toothpaste back into the tube. And to be clear, this is a big topic of conversation here outside of the protest itself.

9:06I talked to William Bruce, a 22-year-old law student, and he shared how he felt when he first heard of Trump's plan to acquire Greenland. It's in some ways our big brother. It's a nation, the U.S., that we've always looked up to, felt that it was someone we shared values with, that what benefited the U.S. would benefit us and vice versa. And he says to see the U.S. perhaps throw away that cooperation is shocking. NPR's Barbara Sprunt in Copenhagen, Denmark. Barbara, safe travels. Thank you.

9:45President Trump's Board of Peace turns out to be more expansive and expensive than advertised. The Board of Peace was advertised as a way to help Gaza reconstruction. Trump would be the chairman with representatives from other nations. We say it's more expansive because a copy of its charter obtained by NPR shows the board asserting power far beyond Gaza. It's more expensive because other nations are asked to pay for the privilege of permanent representation. And Piers Daniel Estrin has been reading the charter. He's in Tel Aviv. Hi there, Daniel. Hi, Steve. What's the document say? Well, first of all, the word Gaza is not mentioned once in this charter, even though the Board of Peace was created for the purpose of Gaza reconstruction.

10:28And instead, the language in this charter makes it seem that Trump is really trying to create a kind of rival UN Security Council to handle all kinds of world conflicts beyond Gaza. The language of this charter says there's a need for a more effective international peacebuilding body. So it sounds like a dig at the UN there. It lists Trump as chairman in a permanent capacity, so potentially for life. He alone would get to designate his successor. And countries that would want to be a permanent member of the Board of Peace would need to pay at least$1 billion, billion with a B. So there's a lot of criticism among analysts saying Trump is really trying to undermine the UN here.

11:09and even make world diplomacy transactional. Yeah, and the charter does not say the president of the United States is the chairman. It says Donald J. Trump would be the chairman. But with that said, where does Gaza come in at all here then? Well, Gaza would be the first test case of this Board of Peace. But if successful, Trump could apply the Board of Peace to other conflict zones around the world. One of the people involved in Trump's leadership committee in thinking through all of this is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He used to be involved in a group called the Quartet of Peacemakers for the Middle East.

11:43And I asked his former head of mission in the Middle East, Rob Dineen, what he thought about all this. And he says that his impression is that Gaza is going to be put basically under a U.S.-led trusteeship, which is something completely new for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You know, Gaza has been in the past under Israeli occupation. It's been led by the Palestinian Authority. It's been under the control of the militant group Hamas. And now after the war, the plan here is to put it under international leadership. Okay. What do Israelis think now that this charter has become public? Well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to be on the Board of Peace.

12:21But under the Board of Peace is a leadership group that's going to be overseeing a day-to-day technocrat committee in Gaza. And Israel is actually objecting to Trump appointing the representatives of Turkey and Qatar to be part of that leadership group. Israel sees Turkey and Qatar as the primary backers of Hamas. So this is actually rare public disagreement by Israel to a part of Trump's peace plan. Okay. Could Israel stop it if it doesn't like it? You know, I guess the short answer is no. I mean, Qatar and Turkey are close allies of Trump, so they will have representatives on this oversight board or this oversight group.

12:59But I think the bigger picture here, Steve, is that Israeli leaders are very skeptical of Trump's bigger plan for Gaza, bringing international players in. Israel does not think that any international player can get Hamas to actually disarm. So this year is going to be a major test of Trump's ability to really push through this new approach to Gaza. NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Thanks for your reporting. You're welcome.

13:26And that's Up First for this Monday, January 19th, Martin Luther King Day. I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Michelle Martin. If you enjoy starting your day with Up First, please consider signing up for NPR+. Your subscription will help keep the NPR network strong and support local public radio stations through a recurring monthly donation. And you get some good perks with it, too, like ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and early access to some NPR content. Visit plus.npr.org to sign up. Today's Up First was edited by Padma Rama, Ben Swayze, Jerry Holmes, Mohamed El-Bardisi, and H.J. Mai. It was produced by Ziyad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas.

14:02We get engineering support from Simon Laszlo Jensen, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.