Trump Demands Jailing of Chicago Mayor and State Executive as Military Forces Arrive in Metropolis
Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the detainment of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements coincide with the deployment of National Guard troops in the Windy City area following directives from the current government, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard members were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military personnel preparing to mobilize, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking protests, especially near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the army's involvement in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, Trump has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are defying national authority.
Since starting his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed sending military units to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In the city, for instance, murders were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.