Trump Demands Jailing of Chicago Mayor and State Executive as Military Forces Deploy in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"The city's leader should be jailed for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump posted on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Windy City area following directives from the federal administration, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the road toward complete autocracy?"
As of midweek, military units from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", even though police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard patches were observed at the military facility in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was placed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the military base for security reasons until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday prohibiting ICE officers and related personnel from using municipal facilities as staging areas for enforcement actions.
The governor has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old federal law restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned sending troops to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were reduced nearly one-third to 278 through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
