Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said that the Trump administration is planning to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard. The Department of Defense gave him an “ultimatum” Saturday morning, Pritzker said: “Call up your troops, or we will.”
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“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,” Pritzker said.
He went on to call this a “manufactured performance.”
“For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety,” Pritzker said. “This is about control.”
In a statement to Straight Arrow News, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Trump authorized “300 national guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets.”
“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” Jackson said.
Trump has previously said he will send federal law enforcement to Chicago to respond to crime. The president also sent the National Guard to Los Angeles, California, Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C. Local officials in Portland and Oregon sued over the troops’ deployment.
Pritzker said Saturday’s demand comes after “unprecedented escalations of aggression against Illinois citizens and residents.”
“Yesterday, Kristi Noem’s and Greg Bovino’s masked agents threw chemical agents near an elementary school, arrested elected officials exercising their First Amendment rights, and raided a Wal-Mart,” Pritzker said. “None of it was in pursuit of justice, but all of it was in pursuit of social media videos. I want to be clear: there is no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois.”
In his statement, Pritzker said state, county and local law enforcement have worked together to ensure public safety around an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. There have been ongoing protests at the facility, especially since the start of an immigration crackdown, which the Trump Administration calls “Operation Midway Blitz.” Protestors and officials say federal immigration agents have been using excessive force as well as tear gas, pepper spray, mace and rubber bullets against demonstrators.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to note the correct name for “Operation Midway Blitz.”
