# Gov. Walz should activate the Minnesota Guard to protect his citizens **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 12, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621 "2026-01-12T22:53:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/22 "2026-01-13T03:08:35Z")
Agree 100%. Do the right thing because it is right. Which is the opposite of any- / every-thing Right. Worrying about the amoral evil opposition’s reaction is deciding to let them define the terms of trade. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/23 "2026-01-13T03:13:23Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > It is happening Exactly! What everyone has been doing isn’t working; we keep marching towards full on fascism. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/24 "2026-01-13T03:49:46Z")
Well, ok. I don’t know the answer. At all. I just know escalation of bullets flying will do no one any good. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/25 "2026-01-13T04:01:25Z")
@Beckdawrek, I agree with the first point, that I don’t know the answer either. It’s hard to look at all the likely harm to come and feel good about it. But I disagree with the second point: echoing @RitterSport, everything that’s been done so far has not prevented the extra-legal actions by the current administration, and every day that goes by he further guts the means to hold him accountable. _At the moment_, if Gov. Walz chooses to take action allowed to him per the state and federal constitution to defend his constituents, it -may- lead to more violence. And it may cause Trump to TACO again. Bullets flying is indeed the worst case, and even a likely scenario. But it’s not certain. And if the administration is really willing to do so… we’re way past the point that being polite and waiting for some great realization to finally hit Trump’s supporters has any meaning. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/26 "2026-01-13T04:19:48Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I just know escalation of bullets flying will do no one any good. No, it won’t, but is the alternative where the one side runs amok over the other preferable? Because that’s what we have now, what our new member suggests. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/27 "2026-01-13T04:28:55Z")
I don’t know. I’ve not known what to do or think since he started his hate tour of Blue states and sanctuary cities. It’s so disconcerting. The hits just keep coming. I fear confusion will cripple us all in the face of all this crap. We have lived relatively gentle lives in the US. (I realize marginalized groups have suffered more) But still, for the most part we’ve been ok. The trouble is escalating faster than I can process. I’m no genius, scholar or political person. I just know when there’s a bad smell something is rotten. I hope someone with way more knowledge and power than me can come in and stop the blood. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/28 "2026-01-13T04:34:42Z")
I think things will keep escalating until there’s finally a backlash on the cities-on-fire scale, something like the [LA Riots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots). At which point the authorities either back down and rethink things, or take it as an excuse for a full-scale martial law crackdown. Under present circumstances, I’m not optimistic about which choice they’ll pick. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/29 "2026-01-13T04:55:53Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And don’t expect to have any effect. Trump will send ICE goons to every Democratic city to terrorize people from voting. Well, it’s not like he hasn’t floated the idea of canceling the mid-term elections. > **[Trump Floats Cancelling Election, Then Insists He Won't](https://time.com/7343696/trump-floats-cancelling-2026-elections/)** > > Federal law leaves no room for a president to cancel or postpone congressional elections ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/30 "2026-01-13T04:59:11Z")
If he tries to pick that fight, he’ll lose. Just like he lost in Portland and Chicago. What we have is a weak admin that’s trying to ACT strong and intimidate people into going along with them, even though they don’t have the bodies, the money, or the wherewithal to actually back up their threats on a large scale. It’s up to us to not let it work. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/31 "2026-01-13T05:07:46Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’m no genius, scholar or political person. I just know when there’s a bad smell something is rotten. > > I hope someone with way more knowledge and power than me can come in and stop the blood. Bec, I agree with just about everything you wrote, especially: “The trouble is escalating faster than I can process.” Things are happening in the U.S. that I never thought possible. In fact I was very proud that they were impossible in this country. What a delusion ! Hate and lies and fascism lay so shallowly under the surface that I am still reeling. And with all that uncertainty and fear, how does one decide when a dangerous and destructive action is still better than the alternative? How do we fight back, and when will be the right time for a given action? I wish the answers were clear. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/32 "2026-01-13T05:12:54Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > And with all that uncertainty and fear, how does one decide when a dangerous and destructive action is still better than the alternative? How do we fight back, and when will be the right time for a given action? I wish the answers were clear. If the Warsaw Ghetto is a historical teaching moment we can look to, waiting too long to act is the same thing as not acting at all. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/33 "2026-01-13T05:14:13Z")
I wish I thought you were wrong. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621/34 "2026-01-13T06:07:23Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > Things are happening in the U.S. that I never thought possible. In fact I was very proud that they were impossible in this country. What a delusion ! Hate and lies and fascism lay so shallowly under the surface that I am still reeling. On reading the history of WWII at age twelve I remember thinking there was nothing deficient about German culture\* – it could happen here. I just never thought it would take only the election one one jerk to make it happen. I am not only reeling, I am disappointed in a big chunk of the American public. \*I didn’t know enough about Japanese culture then to have an opinion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-walz-should-activate-the-minnesota-guard-to-protect-his-citizens/1026621.md?page=1)