Former President Donald J. Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding ICE agents.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "The Illinois governor too!"
The two leaders identify as the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region under orders from the current government, despite strong objections from Illinois authorities including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I'm not going anywhere."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I will not back down. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard troops from the Lone Star State had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 50 miles from Chicago, as the administration pushes forward with its hardline urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
The president has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate notable reductions in many offenses, including murders.
That day, two hundred state guard members were scheduled to arrive to the region, with an additional three hundred state military personnel readying for deployment, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would not perform police functions but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard patches were observed at the military facility in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered no-fly zones over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in Chicago in the past month, triggering protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, attempting to halt the National Guard deployment, asking a federal judge to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their case is set for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement actions.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "justify and normalize the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has said he would be willing to activate the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an uprising or are resisting federal law.
Since starting his new administration, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to over ten cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the military presence is essential to combat crime and protect immigration agents.
Data shows that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in recent years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were reduced 31% to under three hundred through August, per law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on Wednesday found that the majority of US citizens oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
