Trump Demands Jailing of Windy City Leader and State Executive as National Guard Arrive in City
Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in the city in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
New survey data published on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an foreign danger.