trump Calls for Imprisonment of Chicago Mayor, Governor Amid National Guard Deployment Dispute
CHICAGO, IL – Former President Donald Trump escalated his conflict with Chicago officials Tuesday, publicly calling for the imprisonment of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor J.B. Pritzker as a dispute over federal National Guard deployment intensifies. The demand follows Trump’s description of Chicago as a ”war zone” and authorization of 700 National Guard troops to the city, a move now facing legal challenges.
The escalating rhetoric and troop deployment attempts represent a renewed effort by Trump to confront Democratic leadership in major cities, mirroring similar actions taken during his presidency and raising concerns about the potential overreach of federal power. Legal experts suggest Trump’s actions are politically motivated, potentially aimed at punishing political opponents under the guise of maintaining law and order. A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to address the legality of the deployment order, following a similar temporary block of a National Guard deployment in Portland, Oregon, where a judge found no “insurrection” or national security threat justifying the move.
Two hundred National Guard members have already arrived near Chicago, according to an American defense official, despite the ongoing legal battle. Democratic opposition leaders have accused Trump of using demonstrations near a suburban Chicago Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center as a “pretext” to justify sending troops.
Trump has repeatedly targeted Chicago in recent weeks, and has publicly considered invoking the Insurrection act-a set of 18th and 19th-century laws allowing the use of armed forces against American citizens in cases of domestic unrest. He previously deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Memphis, each time against the objections of local authorities.
