President Donald Trump on Wednesday sparked new controversy by calling for the arrest of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. He accused them of refusing to support his plan to deploy National Guard troops for immigration and crime crackdowns in Chicago. Both officials rejected his remarks and vowed to stand their ground.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed the two Democrats “should be in jail for failing to protect ICE officers,” though he offered no specific allegations or legal basis. The statement is the latest in a string of inflammatory remarks in which the president has urged prosecution of his political opponents, defying long-held norms that separate the White House from the Justice Department.
Mayor Johnson responded on X, writing, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” Governor Pritzker also fired back, accusing Trump of authoritarian behavior: “I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.”
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When asked about what crimes the officials had committed, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson offered none, instead accusing Pritzker and Johnson of having “blood on their hands” after a violent weekend in Chicago in which five people were killed and 25 wounded. “Instead of taking action to stop the crime, these Trump-Deranged buffoons would rather allow the violence to continue,” Jackson said.
Meanwhile, National Guard troops from Texas remain stationed outside Chicago, despite legal action from the city and state to block the deployment. The exact mission of the troops is unclear, though the Trump administration has launched an aggressive immigration enforcement push in the region.
Chicago, which Trump has often called a “hellhole,” has actually seen a decline in most violent crimes, according to police statistics. Tensions escalated further over the weekend when a Border Patrol agent shot a woman during a confrontation in the suburb of Broadview.
The controversy intensified as former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a Virginia court to face charges that critics say are part of Trump’s broader effort to target his political opponents. The Justice Department has also opened criminal probes this year into prominent Democrats, including Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, all of whom deny wrongdoing.
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Governor Pritzker, who has long clashed with Trump, has labeled him a “wannabe dictator” and compared his leadership style to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. He argues that Trump’s troop deployments are politically motivated attempts to intimidate Democratic voters ahead of the 2026 elections.
“Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in August.
Pritzker, now in his second term and a potential 2028 presidential contender, has repeatedly opposed any federal intervention in Illinois. Johnson, for his part, has fortified Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city, banning immigration agents from using city-owned property for operations and accusing Trump of violating constitutional boundaries.
“He’s a monster,” Johnson told reporters earlier this year. “Period.”
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