Trump calls for jailing Democratic leaders as troops prepare for Chicago deployment
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US President Donald Trump's administration is preparing to deploy military troops to the streets of Chicago.
PHOTO: AFP
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CHICAGO – US President Donald Trump on Oct 8 called for jailing Chicago’s mayor and the governor of Illinois, both Democrats, as his administration prepared to deploy military troops to the streets of the third-largest US city.
Mr Trump’s call to imprison two prominent opponents of his immigration crackdown comes as another high-profile political rival, former FBI Director James Comey, was due to appear in court to face criminal charges that have been widely criticised as flimsy.
Mr Trump has frequently called for jailing his opponents since he first entered politics in 2015, but Mr Comey is the first to face prosecution.
On his social media platform, Mr Trump accused Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker of failing to protect immigration officers who have been operating in Chicago.
“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” Mr Trump wrote, referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.
Mr Johnson and Mr Pritzker could not be immediately reached for comment.
Hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers have gathered at an Army facility outside Chicago, over the objections of Mr Pritzker, Mr Johnson and other Democratic leaders in the state.
Mr Trump has threatened to deploy troops to more US cities, which he said last week could serve as “training grounds” for the armed forces.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Oct 8 found most Americans oppose the deployment of troops without an external threat.
Mr Trump has ordered Guard troops to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, following his earlier deployments to Los Angeles and Washington, DC. In each case, he has defied staunch opposition from Democratic mayors and governors, who say Mr Trump’s claims of lawlessness and violence do not reflect reality.
“My goal is very simple. STOP CRIME IN AMERICA!” he wrote on his social media platform.
Violent crime has been falling in many US cities since a Covid-era spike, and National Guard troops have so far been largely used to protect federal facilities, not fight street crime.
Protests over Mr Trump’s immigration policies in Chicago and Portland had been largely peaceful and limited in size, according to local officials, far from the conditions described by Trump administration officials.
“What we have going on right now is literally domestic terrorism in Chicago,” Mr Todd Blanche, the No. 2 Justice Department official, said on Fox News.
Mr Pritzker has accused Mr Trump of trying to foment violence to justify further militarisation, and his state has sued to stop the deployment. A federal judge on Oct 6 permitted the deployment to proceed for the time being. Another federal judge has blocked the deployment to Portland.
Mr Trump has threatened to invoke an anti-insurrection law to sidestep any court orders blocking him, which was last invoked during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. REUTERS
