Trump Demands Jailing of Windy City Mayor and Illinois Governor as National Guard Deploy in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were observed at the military facility in the town. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, particularly near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, state and city initiated legal action against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics shows that serious offenses nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through August, per police data.
New survey data published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the sending of troops without an foreign danger.