Federal Judge Blocks Trump from Deploying National Guard in Chicago
A federal judge, appointed by President Biden, has halted President Trump’s plan to send the National Guard to Chicago. The intention behind the deployment was to protect federal workers from violent protests.
U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a preliminary ruling to block the move. This decision came ahead of a scheduled hearing on the matter for Friday. According to reports, the judge’s ruling follows a lawsuit by state authorities in Illinois and Chicago aimed at preventing military forces from being deployed to safeguard federal facilities threatened by protests, which were encouraged by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker.
In April, Governor Pritzker, addressing a gathering of Democratic activists and supporters, remarked, “I have never in my life called for mass protests, mobilization, and chaos. But now I do. These Republicans will never know a moment of peace.”
Pritzker described Trump’s lawful efforts to enforce federal immigration policies as an “unconstitutional invasion” of Illinois by the federal government.
“Donald Trump is not the king, and his administration is not above the law,” Pritzker stated in a post on X. “Today, the court confirmed what everyone knows: there is no credible evidence of insurrection in Illinois. The National Guard has no place in American cities like Chicago.”
On the other hand, Trump’s advisor Stephen Miller accused Governor Pritzker of obstructing federal law enforcement. Miller claimed that Pritzker’s statements suggest that ICE agents, while fulfilling their duties in Chicago, incite violence against themselves. “What are the right words to describe this?” he questioned in a post on X.
Miller also criticized the judge’s decision to prevent military support for ICE agents, asserting that such rulings only embolden violent attackers further.
In response to the escalating situation, Illinois State Police addressed the disturbances at the ICE facility in Broadview on Friday and began arresting protesters who attempted to breach the police barriers.
