Trump Demands Jailing of Chicago Leader and Illinois Governor as National Guard Arrive in Metropolis

Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect ICE agents.

"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker as well!"

The two leaders identify as the Democratic party.

These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard personnel in the Windy City area under orders from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.

"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."

The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What remains on the road toward full-blown autocracy?"

As of midweek, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.

Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, including homicides.

On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, per sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and their facilities.

Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" delivered sanitation facilities and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was placed around the perimeter.

Aviation authorities imposed no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December.

The administration has escalated deportation operations in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an immigration center in Broadview.

Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action targeting the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "unlawful and risky".

Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.

Mayor Johnson also signed an directive on Monday banning federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for deportation efforts.

Pritzker has charged Trump of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".

At a news conference on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his personal authority."

The historic federal law restricts the military's role in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a president to send regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.

Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed deploying military units to over ten cities, such as major metropolitan areas and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is essential to combat crime and protect ICE officers.

Statistics shows that serious offenses across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, per police data.

A recent poll released on Wednesday revealed that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an external threat.