Former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders identify as 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 strong objections from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces preparing to mobilize, per reports. Authorities reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid police functions but would protect federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Mobile units were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for security reasons until 6 December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in the city in the past month, sparking protests, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city initiated legal action targeting the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, labeling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day banning ICE officers and related personnel from using city-owned property as operation bases for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused the president of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "rationalize and normalize the deployment of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to fight violence and protect immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In the city, for example, murders were down 31% to 278 through August, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
