Trump Calls for Jailing of Windy City Mayor and State Executive as National Guard Deploy in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker as well!"
Both officials identify as the Democratic party.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections 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 am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 50 miles from the city, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in many offenses, including murders.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces preparing to mobilize, per sources. Authorities reportedly stated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Extra barriers was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on that day banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on the previous day, he said that Trump is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an uprising or are defying national authority.
After beginning his new administration, the president has sent or mentioned sending troops to over ten urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.