President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both Democrats, should be jailed for failing to defend U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
"Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump's remark came after Texas National Guard troops arrived in Illinois on Tuesday to protect federal personnel and property amid anti-immigration protests.
"I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" Pritzker said in reaction to Trump on Wednesday. "We must all stand up and speak out."
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"This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere," added Johnson in a post on X.
He also said in an appearance on CNN, "this president is unstable, unhinged, a double-minded individual that, quite frankly, is a threat to our democracy."
White House press secretary Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital, "JB Pritzker and Brandon Johnson have blood on their hands."
"These failed leaders have stood idly by while innocent Americans fall victim to violent crime time and time again. Last weekend alone, 30 people were shot and five of them died. But 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," she added.
A Pentagon official said 200 guardsmen were mobilized for an initial 60-day period.
Troops arrived in Illinois "in support of the Federal Protection Mission to protect federal functions, personnel, and property," according to a Pentagon statement.
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About a dozen people have been arrested near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, where anti-immigration crowds have been gathering for days.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Saturday that additional special operations personnel would be deployed to Illinois after federal agents were rammed and boxed in by 10 cars.
Johnson reiterated on Tuesday he believes the deployment is "illegal, unconstitutional, dangerous and wrong."
Pritzker and Johnson also filed a lawsuit Monday to block the Trump administration from deploying hundreds of National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas in Chicago and surrounding cities.
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
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