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Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted Donald Trump's threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, calling the move "unconstitutional federal overreach."
"The Governor, the Cook County Board President, and I are in complete alignment: Chicago is not calling for a military occupation of our city. We are currently evaluating all of our legal options to protect the people of Chicago from unconstitutional federal overreach," Johnson said in a statement on Sunday (August 24).
“No matter what happens, the City of Chicago will not waver. We are Chicago. We will not bend or cower, and we will never break,” he added.
Johnson's comments come after Trump said his administration would target Chicago "next" following his federal crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., where roughly 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed.
“I think Chicago will be … next,” Trump said at the White House. “And then we’ll help with New York.”
According to reports, the Pentagon has weighed sending thousands of troops to patrol the streets of Chicago as early as September.
“The guard is not needed,” Johnson told NBC News. “This is not the role of our military. The brave men and women who signed up to serve our country did not sign up to occupy American cities.”
The mayor cited recent crime data showing that homicides are down more than 30 percent, robberies down 35 percent, and shootings down nearly 40 percent over the past year.
“In Chicago, we have effectively reduced all forms of violent crime by doing what works: constitutional policing, violence prevention, and investing in our communities,” Johnson said. “We need to keep building on this work.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker echoed Johnson’s statements, accusing Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he’s causing families.”
It's still unclear how a federal crackdown in Chicago would work. Unlike Washington, D.C., Chicago is not under federal jurisdiction, meaning Trump would need coordination from state and local officials to deploy troops or seize control of local policing.
When asked on Friday if he had spoken to Johnson, Trump said he hadn't but claimed that “people in the city are screaming for us to come.”
“When we’re ready, and we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C. Chicago is very dangerous,” Trump said.
Johnson said the city "will not be intimidated" by Trump's threats.
“This is our city. And we will protect it," he said.
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