US President Donald Trump called on Tuesday for the jailing of the mayor of Chicago and the governor of the US state of Illinois, both Democrats, as his administration prepared to deploy military troops to the streets of America's third-largest city, Reuters reported.
Neither Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson nor Illinois Governor JB Pritzker have been charged with any crime, and both are prominent opponents of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and the deployment of National Guard members in cities with majority Democratic voters.
Trump's call to imprison the two elected officials comes as another of his prominent political rivals, former FBI Director James Comey, was preparing to appear in court on criminal charges widely criticized as unfounded.
Trump has frequently called for the imprisonment of his opponents since he entered politics in 2015, but Comey is the first to face criminal prosecution.
On his social media account, Trump accused Johnson and Pritzker of failing to protect immigration officers operating in Chicago.
"The Mayor of Chicago should be in jail for failing to protect ICE officers! So should Governor Pritzker!" Trump wrote, referring to members of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Johnson signed an executive order on Monday creating an "ICE Free Zone," which prohibits federal immigration agents from using city facilities in their operations.
"This is not the first time Trump has tried to unjustly arrest a black man. I'm not going anywhere," Johnson said on social media.
Pritzker, who has been mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, also said he would not back down. "Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected officials who control his power. What's next on the road to total authoritarianism?"
Trump has vowed to use the power of the federal government to crack down on his enemies. In addition to Comey, his Justice Department is investigating several other prominent critics. All of them have denied any wrongdoing, and Comey is expected to plead not guilty to charges of lying to Congress.
Hundreds of Texas National Guard troops have gathered at a military facility outside Chicago, despite opposition from Pritzker, Johnson and other Democratic leaders in the state. Trump has threatened to deploy troops to other U.S. cities, saying last week that it could serve as a "training ground" for the armed forces.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released today showed that a majority of Americans oppose deploying troops in the absence of an external threat.
Troops in Chicago
Trump has ordered the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, after previously sending troops to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In each case, he has faced strong opposition from Democratic mayors and governors, who say Trump's rhetoric about lawlessness and violence does not reflect reality.
"My goal is very simple: STOP CRIME IN AMERICA!" Trump wrote on his social media account.
Violent crime levels have been declining in many US cities since the coronavirus pandemic, and National Guard members have so far been used mainly to protect federal facilities, rather than to combat street crime, Reuters reports.
Protests over Trump's immigration policies in Chicago and Portland were largely peaceful and limited in scope, according to local officials — a far cry from the image being portrayed by his administration. Several protests were scheduled for today.
"What's happening in Chicago right now is literally domestic terrorism," Todd Blanch, the Justice Department's second-in-command, said on Fox News.
Pritzker has accused Trump of trying to incite violence to justify further militarization, and his state has filed a lawsuit to block the deployment. A federal judge on Monday allowed the deployment to proceed for now, while another federal judge blocked the deployment in Portland.
Trump has threatened to invoke the Riot Act to bypass any court injunctions — a law last invoked during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
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