Trump Demands Arrests of Illinois Leaders Amidst National Guard Deployment to Chicago
Trump Demands Arrests of Illinois Leaders Amidst National Guard Deployment to Chicago
President Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his standoff with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, publicly suggesting on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, that they “should be in jail” for allegedly failing to protect ICE agents. This incendiary statement comes as Texas National Guard troops are deployed to Chicago, a move vehemently opposed by state and city officials.
The arrival of Texas National Guard personnel at the Joliet Army Reserve Training Center, starting Monday, October 6, followed President Trump’s order for increased federal law enforcement presence. This deployment has sparked outrage from Democratic leaders. Governor Pritzker asserted on Tuesday, October 7, that Illinois “will not let the Trump administration continue on their authoritarian march without resisting,” vowing to stop this “power grab” and emphasizing that “military troops should not be used against American communities.”
Mayor Johnson echoed these sentiments, declaring on Tuesday that “Donald Trump declared war on Chicago” and accused the administration of “intentionally fomenting chaos.” Responding to Trump’s social media call for his arrest on Wednesday, Johnson stated, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” Governor Pritzker also reacted to Trump’s post, tweeting, “I will not back down,” and questioned the president’s calls for arresting elected officials as a step towards “full-blown authoritarianism.”
The escalating rhetoric coincides with a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago on Monday, October 6. The suit seeks to block the Trump administration’s military deployment, arguing that “the American people…should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor.” The lawsuit warns that the foundational principle separating the military from domestic affairs is “in peril.”
Earlier in the week, President Trump conditionally threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which empowers him to deploy the military domestically. While he stated on Monday, October 6, he didn’t yet see the need, he affirmed he would “do it, if people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up.” This ongoing federal-state clash over law enforcement and military authority continues to unfold rapidly in Illinois.
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