Pentagon readies 1,500 troops for potential Minnesota deployment, US officials say

People protest against ICE, after a U.S. immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car in Minneapolis, in New York City, January 7. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis

WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Pentagon has ordered ‌about 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the site of large protests against the government's deportation drive, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.

The ‌U.S. Army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the midwestern state escalates, the officials said, though it is not clear whether any of them will ‌be sent.