Trump Demands Imprisonment of Windy City Mayor and State Executive as Military Forces Deploy in City
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or mentioned deploying troops to over ten urban centers, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced 31% to 278 through August, per police data.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.
