Trump threatens jail for Illinois leaders

Governor calls series of tactics 'un-American'

By: Marc Ramirez
and Christopher Cann
USA Today

..... President Donald Trump called for the arrest of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker as hundreds of National Guard troops seemed poised to enter the city in which tensions are boiling over the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration.
..... "Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!" Trump wrote on his social media platform on October 8, [2025] referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.
..... Pritzker, responded defiantly, writing on X "I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" Johnson said he's "not going anywhere" and added, "This is not the first time Trump has tired to have a Black man unjustly arrested."
...... The back-and-forth comes as hundreds of National Guard troops - 200 soldiers from Texas and 300 from Illinois - arrived in the greater Chicago area, according to U.S. Northern Command. The troops arrived after the White House ordered their deployment on October 4 [2025] over the vociferous objections of local and state leaders, who field a lawsuit challenging the move.
..... U.S. District Judge April M. Perry at an emergency hearing allowed the deployment to move forward but warned that any troop action before an October 9 [2025] hearing could be used as evidence against the Trump administration.
..... Pritzker and Johnson for weeks have condemned increasing aggressive ICE raids in the city and Trump's characterization of Chicago as "the worst and most dangerous city in the world." On October 6 [2025] Johnson singed an executive order establishing an "ICE Free Zone" prohibiting federal mitigation agents from using city property in their orations.
..... Chicago has become the latest flash-point in the Trump administration's deportation campaign and crackdown on crime in Democratic-led cities. On October 6 [2025] Trump floated the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act if judges or leaders in blue cites continue to hold u0p National Guard deployments.
..... The stepped-up enforcement of Trump's Chicago-area mitigation crackdown, called Operation Midway Blitz, has fueled a simmering powder keg, heightening tensions in the city and spurring ongoing protests.
..... Pritzker has said the state "won't be intimidated by a wannabe dictator" and called the activation of National Guard troops a "manufactured performance."
..... "I want to be clear: there is no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois," he said on October 4, [2025] posting on X that the War Department had given him as ultimatum that said, "Call up your troops, or we will."
..... "It is absolutely outrageous and unAmerican to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders an against our will,: Pritzker said.
..... According to mitigation authorities, more than 800 "illegal aliens including worst of the worst criminals" have been detained since the operation began.
..... Illinois leaders fear Trump is suing conflict between federal agents and anti-immigration enforcement protesters to justify troop deployment and to ultimately take control of the heavily Democratic stronghold.
..... Meanwhile, the Trump administration has included Chicago among blue cities and states whose federal funds are being withheld during the ongoing government shutdown, Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said that $2.1 billion in promised federal funds for Chicago's transit system have been paused.

..... Contributing: Reuters

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