🔗 Share this article Trump Demands Imprisonment of Windy City Leader and State Executive as Military Forces Deploy in Metropolis Ex-President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents. "Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media early Wednesday. "The Illinois governor too!" Both officials identify as the Democratic party. Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding strong objections from state officials such as the governor and mayor. "This represents not the first instance 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, stating: "I refuse to back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of democratically chosen representatives resisting his authority. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, an army base roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts. Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, such as murders. That day, two hundred state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities. Soldiers wearing uniforms with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter. Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until 6 December. The administration has intensified immigration enforcement in the city in recent weeks, triggering demonstrations, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb. Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and dangerous". Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday. The mayor also signed an executive order on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions. The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces". At a news conference on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command." The historic Posse Comitatus Act limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to send regular army in regions that are unable to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law. After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or mentioned deploying military units to at least 10 urban centers, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and protect ICE officers. Data shows that serious offenses across the US has declined in recent years. In the city, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through August, according to law enforcement reports. A recent poll released on Wednesday found that most Americans oppose the sending of troops without an external threat.