[Text/Observer Network Qi Qian]
US President Trump is addicted to "sending troops" and now keeps a close eye on Chicago, the third largest city in Illinois.
"Arrest Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker!" On October 8, local time, Trump posted on social media, accusing two Democratic officials of failing to protect immigration officials operating in Chicago.
According to National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Reuters and other reports, Johnson and Pritzke were not accused of any criminal misconduct, but obviously, because of the firm opposition to Trump's deployment of the National Guard in major cities, the two have become Trump's "eye nail".
At the same time, the U.S. National Guard said about 500 soldiers had been assembled in the Chicago area.
However, in the face of the threat of Trump’s arrest, the local government did not give in. On the same day, Johnson angered Trump with “emotional instability and mental turmoil.” Pritzker held a press conference to encourage the state’s residents to protest the Trump administration’s immigration initiative.
Trump is scolded back: Is he insane?
Trump said: "The mayor of Chicago should be jailed for failing to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials! So is Governor Pritzker!"
Asked whether to call on the U.S. Department of Justice to consider potential charges against Plitzk and Johnson, Trump reiterated his position during a White House event on the afternoon of the 8th, he noted: “I’ve read the law. When a group of people calls for a stop to the police’s security protection for ICE officials, I understand this, and I’ve read it in many magazines today, it’s illegal.”
As an African-American Democratic official, Johnson responded in a post on social media platform X: "This is not the first time Trump has tried to unfairly arrest a black man. I'm not going anywhere." On the 6th, Johnson signed an executive order creating an "ICE-free zone" that prohibits immigration officials from using city property to conduct operations in Chicago.
In an interview with CNN, Johnson said: “This president is unstable, confused, ambiguous, and frankly poses a threat to democracy ... I will firmly serve as the mayor of this great city.
Pritzker, who is considered a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, also said he would not back down.
At a joint press conference with Johnson on the 8th, Pritzker vowed to use "all means" at the state's disposal to resist Trump's deployment, accusing Trump of being a "convicted felon" but wanting to stage "authoritarian marches" in Chicago and other Democrat-led cities. He warned: "If you want to arrest my people, you have to go through me first. So come and arrest me."
Pritzker also encouraged residents to protest against the Trump administration's immigration measures and documented federal arrests.
“We want everyone to take their phones, whether they’re Android phones, iPhones or any other phones, and take pictures of everything you see, because we’re going to bring them to the court and show them to the public.”
Johnson (first from left) and Pritzker (first from right) held a press conference on the 8th
Will the war zone be set on fire?
The National Guard said about 200 troops from Texas and 300 from Illinois had gathered in the Chicago area to prepare to protect federal officials, including ICE agents, as well as Chicago’s federal property.
Trump criticized Chicago by name in early September, calling it the "worst and most dangerous" city in the world, and said he would deploy the National Guard to the city to "fight crime". According to reports, on October 4, local time, the White House announced that Trump decided to deploy the National Guard to Chicago "to protect federal officials and assets in Chicago" because the local government had not yet quelled the "continuous violent riots".
Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on the 6th, trying to prevent it from deploying the National Guard to Chicago.
Meanwhile, Chicago has recently erupted in protests against federal immigration officials, with demonstrators repeatedly outbursting clashes with law enforcement.
Recently, Trump and his administration officials have called Chicago a "war zone." But according to local officials, the protests in Chicago were largely peaceful, limited in scale, and far from what Trump administration officials described.
On the 8th, hundreds of National Guard troops gathered near Chicago
A wave of resistance is set off in major cities
NBC mentioned that when Trump asked to imprison the two Democratic elected officials, James Comey, another well-known political opponent of Trump and former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was facing criminal charges, but he refused to plead guilty. Trump has often called for the imprisonment of his opponents after his first foray into politics in 2015, but Comey is the first person to face indictment.
Earlier this year, Trump sent troops to Los Angeles and Washington, which was strongly resisted.
Trump's successive dispatch of National Guard troops to Democrat-governed states and cities has been strongly criticized by the Democratic Party, saying it has political purposes and is to attack areas governed by the Democratic Party. Trump said the move was to combat crime and maintain law and order.
According to the Washington Post, as of the 8th local time, the Trump administration has deployed National Guard troops to cities such as Portland, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Memphis. Among them, Portland's actions have been blocked by the court and the city of Chicago has appealed.
In addition, Trump also threatened to “send” troops to cities such as Shreveport, New Orleans and Papua New Guinea.
"My goal is very simple-to stop crime in America!" Trump previously wrote on social media platforms.
But Reuters pointed out that violent crime in many U.S. cities surged during the COVID-19 epidemic, but has recently shown a decline, and National Guard soldiers have never been used to combat street crime before.
A recent Reuters poll showed that most Americans oppose deploying troops without external threats.