Trump Demands Imprisonment of Windy City Mayor and Illinois Governor as Military Forces Arrive in City
Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday called for the detainment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor as well!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on Wednesday. "I'm not going put."
Pritzker also replied via social platforms, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Officials indicated the troops would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were spotted at the military facility in the town. Trucks labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in rows. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
The mayor also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and make acceptable the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to activate the emergency powers, which allows a president to dispatch regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has sent or discussed sending troops to over ten cities, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on that day found that the majority of US citizens disapprove of the deployment of military forces without an external threat.
