Trump Demands Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor and Illinois Governor as Military Forces Arrive in City
Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials such as the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have a Black man unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not yield. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Soldiers wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The mayor also issued an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has charged Trump of using troops as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be prepared to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to send active duty military in regions that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his new administration, the president has dispatched or discussed sending military units to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.