Trump Demands Jailing of Chicago Leader and State Executive as National Guard Arrive in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, military units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused Trump of using military forces as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.