Trump calls for arrest of Illinois governor, Chicago mayor after dispute over national guard deployment

US President Donald Trump has called for the arrest of JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois, and Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago, following a dispute over the federal deployment of the national guard to address immigration issues in the city.

Trump invoked a rarely used statute to deploy national guard forces to several Democratic-governed cities, including Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland, and Los Angeles, as measures to address what his administration described as escalating crime, immigration protests, and threats to federal property.

There have also been increasingly tense protests outside immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) facilities.

Nearly two weeks ago, there was a shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas, leading to the death of two detainees.

Trump described the incident as an attack on law enforcement.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, the president said Pritzker and Johnson should be in jail for “failing to protect ICE officers”.

Both officials dismissed Trump’s criticism.

“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 wrote on his X handle.

Johnson called Trump an “unstable, unhinged, double-minded individual” who is a threat to US democracy.

“This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere,” the mayor said.

Illinois and Chicago have both sued the Trump administration for the troops’ deployment.