Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor and State Executive as National Guard Arrive in Metropolis
Former President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities such as 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 online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
That day, 200 Texas National Guard members were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day revealed that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
