WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, “should be in jail” for opposing his decision to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago as part of his ongoing immigration and crime crackdown.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused the two officials of “failing to protect ICE officers,” though he did not specify the basis of his allegations.
His remarks mark the latest instance of the president calling for criminal action against political opponents, breaking with the long-standing norm of Justice Department independence from the White House.
Both Pritzker and Johnson swiftly rejected Trump’s comments.
“This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere,” Johnson wrote on X.
Pritzker posted, “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?”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, when pressed by reporters on what crimes Trump believes the officials committed, did not identify any but said the pair “have blood on their hands,” citing weekend Chicago Police Department data showing five people killed and 25 wounded in shootings.
“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 make their city safe again,” Jackson said.
The deployment of Texas National Guard troops in the Chicago area has sparked legal and political backlash. Illinois and Chicago officials filed a lawsuit to block the move, saying it was unconstitutional and unauthorized.
The troops’ mission remains unclear, but the Trump administration has framed it as part of an aggressive immigration enforcement operation. Protesters have clashed with agents outside a detention center in suburban Broadview, where immigration raids have intensified.
Over the weekend, a Border Patrol agent shot a woman identified as Marimar Martinez, 30, after an altercation in which she and a man allegedly boxed in the agent’s vehicle. Martinez’s lawyer claims body camera footage contradicts the government’s account.
Trump’s comments came as his Justice Department faces scrutiny for investigations into several Democratic figures, including Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, all of whom have denied wrongdoing and accused Trump of weaponizing the legal system.
Pritzker, a longtime critic of Trump, has accused the president of trying to “militarize American cities” ahead of the 2026 elections, suggesting the move is politically motivated.
“He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems,” Pritzker said earlier this year.
Both Illinois and Chicago are sanctuary jurisdictions, limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement — a policy Trump has repeatedly attacked, calling Chicago a “hell hole of crime.”
Johnson, for his part, has accused Trump of having an “animus” toward minorities and said the federal actions are unconstitutional. “He’s a monster,” the mayor told reporters earlier this year. — Agencies
