Historical Perspective on National Guard and Federal Agents



On Saturday, January 24th, U.S. Border Patrol agents Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Guttierez shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti dead in the streets of the Whittier Neighborhood of South Minneapolis.  The shooting marked the 9th person who has died at the hands of ICE or CPB agents, or in ICE custody so far, nationwide, this year.  In response to the Pretti shooting,  Governor Tim Walz has deployed 1,500 Minnesota National Guard troops to the Twin Cities.  The state has deployed Guard troops to federal buildings.  So far, the Guard troops have tried to distinguish themselves from federal DHS agents by wearing high-visibility vests and providing coffee and donuts to protestors.  Nonetheless, the presence of Minnesota armed troops and heavily armed federal officers raises fears of conflict between the two.  John W. Hall is the Ambrose-Hesseltine Professor of Military History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on February 2, 2026 to give us a historical perspective of the relationship between state troops and the federal government.

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