E-Paper
Donald Trump to take over Chicago next? US President says ‘stay tuned'
Earlier this month, Donald Trump invoked the Home Rule Act and brought the Washington DC police department under direct control of the federal government
After Washington, US President Donald Trump on Thursday hinted at a possible take over of Chicago, saying that the people are "desperate" for him to "STOP THE CRIME".
Earlier this month, Trump invoked the Home Rule Act and brought the Washington DC police department under direct control of the federal government. After this, he also deployed the National Guard in the capital.
Now, in a post on Truth Social, the President said, "Governor Pritzker had 6 murders in Chicago this weekend. 20 people were shot. But he doesn’t want to ask me for help. Can this be possible? The people are desperate for me to STOP THE CRIME, something the Democrats aren’t capable of doing. STAY TUNED!!! President DJT"
ALSO READ | After Trump's DC takeover, New York and Mamdani in focus: ‘…in a little while’
Last week as well, Donald Trump had hinted that he had his eyes set on Chicago. "Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough," he said.
The move is linked to the President's crackdown on crime, illegal immigration and homelessness. It could also include mobilising at least "a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September".
After Trump threatened to deploy National Guard troops and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago earlier this month, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said that the president lacked the legal authority.
However, Pritzker and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson were discussing what measures they could take to prevent a federal deployment, a move that is underway in Los Angeles and Washington, news agency Reuters reported.
But the US's third-largest city has already begun preparations for a take over scenario amid Trump's amped up threats.
ALSO READ | Trump, Newsom clash in court over National Guard deployment in Los Angeles
Pritzker and Johnson's offices are reportedly in close coordination. Meanwhile, Kwame Raoul, the state's attorney general, said he was forming a legal strategy to execute if troops arrived in Chicago.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, however, said at a press conference that officers would not assist with federal law enforcement, but would not interfere with it either.
"We know people are living in fear," he said, "and working with ICE, it does nothing to help those relationships and in fact, it hurts."
"We're not going to ask for anyone's immigration status, we don't care. We're going to continue to stand up for the people in our city to make sure that they're safe," he added.
Military base outside Chicago asked to support immigration ops
The Trump administration earlier in the day asked a military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations, giving a clue of what an expanded law enforcement crackdown in the city might look like.
Matt Mogle, a spokesperson for the base, situated 56 kms north of Chicago, said in a statement that the department of Homeland Security asked the Naval Station Great Lakes "for limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs to support DHS operations".
Mogle also said that no decisions have been made on the request, adding that the base has not received any official request to support a National Guard Deployment in Chicago, The Associated Press reported.
