WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump he said on wednesday governor of illinois and mayor of chicagoBoth Democrats oppose his policies and should be jailed National Guard deployment For cracking down on immigration and crime in the nation’s third-largest city. Officials said they would not be deterred.
The Republican president commented in a social media post: impudent phone call for him Opponents will be prosecuted or imprisoned —A departure from longstanding norms to which the Department of Justice has traditionally strived. to maintain independence From the White House.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect ice workers!” It was a reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It was not immediately clear what President Trump was objecting to.
“This is not the first time President Trump has tried to unfairly arrest a black man. I’m not going anywhere,” Johnson said in a post on X. Pritzker, also of X, said: “I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected officials to check his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?”
Asked what crime the president thought Mr. Pritzker and Mr. Johnson had committed, White House Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said they had “blood on their hands,” although she could not specify, pointing to a Chicago Police Department report that said at least five people were killed and 25 people were shot over the weekend.
“Rather than take action to stop crime, these Trump-mad clowns are instead allowing violence to continue and are trying to attack a president who wants to make his city safe again,” Jackson said.
Texas National Guard troops are being deployed to a Chicago suburb, despite a lawsuit by the state and city seeking to block the deployment.
Although the military’s mission is unclear, the Trump administration is undertaking the following efforts: Aggressive immigration enforcement operations In Chicago.
President Trump called Chicago a “hellhole” of crime, even though police statistics show a significant drop in most crimes, including murder. protester He got into a scuffle with investigators outside a detention center in Broadview Village, a Chicago suburb.
A Chicago woman was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents over the weekend. she and the man were charged The act of using one’s own vehicle to attack and break into an agent’s vehicle. The deputy then got out of the car and fired five shots at Marimar Martinez, 30.
Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, 21, were charged with forcible assault on a federal officer and ordered released Monday while awaiting trial. Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, argued that the body camera footage contradicts the federal government’s account of her actions.
President Trump’s comments were earlier. FBI Director James Comey Appeared in court in Virginia plead not guilty The case raises concerns about the Justice Department’s efforts to target President Trump’s opponents.
“I’m paying you back,” Trump told his supporters during his 2024 White House campaign, when he was facing criminal and civil investigations.
The Justice Department also opened a criminal investigation into the California senator this year. adam schiff New York Attorney General Letitia James and former governor of New York. andrew cuomois running for mayor of New York. The three men, all Democrats, deny wrongdoing and say the investigation is politically motivated.
Pritzker, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, has called Trump a “wannabe dictator,” compared Trump’s leadership to Russian President Vladimir Putin and joked that Republicans aren’t “reading” anything. The governor responded to President Trump for threatening Chicago. ultimate power, Suffering from dementia.
Pritzker is attracting attention as a candidate for the White House in 2028. fought strongly against Along with Mr. Johnson, he rejected federal intervention in Illinois and Chicago, saying it was neither wanted nor necessary.
“Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than him sending troops to Chicago,” Pritzker said. told the Associated Press In August, I visited the South Side neighborhood, where I was accompanied by a campaign videographer. “He should focus on some of the bigger issues.”
Pritzker claimed that President Trump is seeking to militarize cities to influence the outcome of the 2026 election by disrupting voting operations in Democratic strongholds like Chicago.
Heir to Hyatt Hotels fortune seeks 3rd term He will become governor next year but has avoided questions about his higher ambitions. Pritzker was considered as one of the finalists. running mate Democratic Party Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential election.
Mr Trump is often mentions Chicago Because Illinois has the strongest immigration protections in the country. Both are “sanctuary” jurisdictions, with limited cooperation between police and federal immigration authorities.
In his first term, Mayor Johnson further strengthened those protections, including an executive order prohibiting immigration agents from using city-owned land as a base of operations. He claims President Trump’s actions are unconstitutional.
Johnson accused Trump of waging war on Chicago and of being “hostile” towards women and people of color. Chicago’s population of 2.7 million people is nearly one-third black and roughly one-third Hispanic.
“He’s a monster,” Johnson told reporters in May. “period.”
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Tareen reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.
