U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the imprisonment of Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, as his administration finalized plans to send military troops into Chicago, America’s third-largest city.
Neither official has been accused of any crime, but both have been outspoken critics of Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement and his decision to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities.
The president’s call comes just as another of his long-standing political rivals, former FBI Director James Comey, was set to appear in court on criminal charges that many legal analysts have described as weak. While Trump has repeatedly called for the jailing of opponents since 2015, Comey is the first to face prosecution.
On his social media platform, Trump wrote, “Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” accusing both leaders of obstructing federal immigration efforts.
Earlier in the week, Mayor Johnson signed an executive order establishing an “ICE Free Zone,” which restricts federal immigration officers from operating on city property. Requests for comment from Johnson and Pritzker were not immediately answered.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Texas National Guard members have gathered at a military base near Chicago in preparation for deployment, despite objections from state and local officials. Trump has hinted at plans to send troops to additional cities, saying last week that the deployments could serve as “training grounds” for the armed forces.
The president has already ordered troop deployments to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, following earlier operations in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In each instance, he has defied strong pushback from Democratic governors and mayors, who argue that claims of widespread crime and chaos are overstated.
“My goal is very simple. STOP CRIME IN AMERICA!” Trump posted on his platform.
Data from law enforcement agencies show that violent crime has been declining in most U.S. cities since its spike during the COVID-19 pandemic. National Guard troops have so far been primarily used to secure federal facilities rather than engage in street-level law enforcement.
Officials in Chicago and Portland reported that protests against Trump’s immigration policies have remained mostly peaceful and small in scale, contrary to depictions from federal officials.
“What we have going on right now is literally domestic terrorism in Chicago,” said Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General, during an appearance on Fox News.
Governor Pritzker has accused Trump of intentionally provoking unrest to justify greater militarization. The Illinois state government has filed a lawsuit to block the deployment, though a federal judge on Monday allowed it to move forward for now. A separate court has halted the planned deployment to Portland.
Trump has also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used law that allows a president to bypass state and court restrictions on military deployment, a measure last used during the Los Angeles riots in 1992.
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