U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified his confrontations with Democratic officials in major cities by threatening to deploy the National Guard. On Wednesday, Oct. 8, Trump took to his social media platform, declaring his intention to arrest Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. He accused them of failing to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and not cooperating in crime-fighting efforts. Both Johnson and Pritzker have firmly stated they will not back down.
Trump claimed that his threat to arrest the two officials has a legal basis, stating, he has looked at the law. When a group of people prevents the police from providing security protection for ICE officials, it is illegal. However, Trump did not specify any concrete illegal actions committed by Johnson or Pritzker.
According to U.S. media reports, approximately 500 National Guard members are currently stationed in the Chicago area. Among them, 300 are from Illinois, while an additional 200 are from Texas.
Both the Illinois state government and the Chicago municipal government have filed lawsuits seeking court injunctions to block Trump from deploying the National Guard. Mayor Johnson described Trump's threat to arrest him as a sign of emotional instability and mental derangement, stating, This is not the first time Trump has attempted to unjustly arrest a Black man. I will firmly continue to serve as the mayor of Chicago, defending the entire city.
Governor Pritzker also condemned Trump, vowing to use all available means to resist the administration's attempts to deploy more National Guard troops. He emphasized that Trump, himself a convicted felon, is now attempting to abuse power in Democrat-led cities, declaring, If you want to arrest the people of Illinois, you'll have to go through me first.
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