By MICHELLE L. PRICE and SOPHIA TAREEN, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday stated the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, each Democrats, needs to be jailed as they oppose his deployment of Nationwide Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown within the nation’s third-largest metropolis. The officers stated they’d not be deterred.
The Republican president made the remark in a social media publish, the newest instance of his brazen calls for his opponents to be prosecuted or locked up — a break from longtime norms because the Justice Division historically has strived to take care of its independence from the White Home.
Trump wrote on Reality Social that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” It was a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It was not instantly clear what Trump was objecting to.
Johnson, in a publish on X, stated, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” Pritzker, additionally on X, stated” I can’t again down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his energy. What else is left on the trail to full-blown authoritarianism?”
White Home spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, when requested what crimes the president believed Pritzker and Johnson had dedicated, didn’t determine any, however she stated they “have blood on their hands” and pointed to Chicago Police Division stories that at the very least 5 individuals had been killed and 25 shot over the weekend.
“Instead of taking action to stop the crime, these Trump-Deranged buffoons would rather allow the violence to continue and attack the President for wanting to help make their city safe again,” Jackson stated.
Nationwide Guard troops from Texas are positioned outdoors Chicago regardless of a lawsuit by the state and metropolis to dam the deployment.
The troops’ mission will not be clear however the Trump administration has undertaken an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago.
Trump has known as Chicago a “hell hole” of crime, although police statistics present vital drops in most crimes, together with homicides. Protesters have skirmished with brokers outdoors a detention middle within the village of Broadview, outdoors Chicago.
A girl in Chicago was shot by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend after she and a person had been accused of utilizing their autos to strike after which field within the agent’s automobile. The agent then exited his automotive and fired 5 pictures at Marimar Martinez, 30.
Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, 21, are charged with forcibly assaulting a federal officer and had been ordered to be launched Monday pending trial. Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, claimed physique digicam footage contradicts the federal authorities’s narrative of her actions.
Trump’s remark got here as former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a Virginia courtroom, pleading not responsible in a case that has intensified considerations about Justice Division’s efforts to focus on Trump adversaries.
When Trump was campaigning for the White Home in 2024 at a time he confronted prison and civil investigations, he instructed supporters, “I am your retribution.”
The Justice Division has additionally opened prison investigations this 12 months in opposition to California Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s operating for New York Metropolis mayor. The three, all Democrats, have all denied wrongdoing and say the investigations are politically motivated.
Pritzker, one among Trump’s fiercest critics, has known as the president a “wannabe dictator,” evaluating his management to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin and joking that the Republican “doesn’t read” something. The governor has instructed that Trump, who has threatened Chicago with apocalyptic power, suffers from dementia.
Pritzker, eyed as a possible 2028 White Home contender, has strongly fought in opposition to any federal intervention together with Johnson, saying it isn’t needed or wanted in Illinois or Chicago.
“Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker instructed The Related Press in August throughout a go to to a South Aspect neighborhood the place a marketing campaign videographer was additionally in tow. “He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems.”
Pritzker alleges that Trump is attempting to militarize cities to have an effect on the result of the 2026 election by impeding voting efforts in Democratic strongholds like Chicago.
The inheritor to the Hyatt Lodge fortune is looking for a 3rd time period as governor subsequent 12 months and has sidestepped questions on increased ambitions. Pritzker was among the many finalists thought of as a operating mate for Democratic Kamala Harris’ presidential run in 2024.
Trump has typically singled out Chicago and Illinois as a result of they’ve among the nation’s strongest immigrant protections. Each are “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which restrict cooperation between police and federal immigration brokers.
Johnson, a first-term mayor, has strengthened these protections even additional with govt orders, together with one which bars immigration brokers from utilizing city-owned land as staging areas for operations. He calls Trump’s actions unconstitutional.
Johnson has accused Trump of waging a warfare on Chicago and having an “animus” towards ladies and folks of shade. Almost one-third of Chicago’s 2.7 million are Black and roughly one-third are Hispanic.
“He’s a monster,” Johnson instructed reporters in Might. “Period.”
Tareen reported from Chicago. Related Press author Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.
Initially Printed: October 8, 2025 at 11:18 AM EDT
