Trump Calls for Jailing of Illinois Leaders; Pritzker Dares Him to “Come and Get Me”
The political battle between President Donald Trump and Illinois Democrats escalated sharply on Wednesday after Trump called for the arrest of Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), accusing them of “failing to protect ICE.”
Trump’s Provocative Call
On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect ICE Officers! Governor Pritzker also!” His post followed ongoing disputes over federal immigration enforcement in Chicago, where local and state leaders have resisted elements of Trump’s immigration agenda, including controversial ICE raids and the deployment of the National Guard. The president has increasingly targeted Democratic governors and mayors in his public remarks. In recent weeks, he suggested that California Gov. Gavin Newsom should also face jail.
Pritzker’s Defiant Response
Speaking at a federal workers rally at Federal Plaza in Chicago, Pritzker fired back.
“Look, he’s a coward. He says a lot of things. He likes to pretend to be a tough guy. Come and get me,” Pritzker told reporters. “What kind of country are we living in where the president of the United States is targeting his political opponents? These are people who stand against him, disagree with him, speak out about it, but literally have done nothing wrong.”
Pritzker escalated further, calling Trump “demented” and “literally unhinged.”
“This is somebody who’s so insecure that he lashes out, pretending that he can come arrest people for no reason at all,” he said. “He can’t. He isn’t going to do it… he always chickens out.”
On X (formerly Twitter), Pritzker warned Trump’s rhetoric signaled something darker: “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?”
Chicago Mayor Johnson Joins the Pushback
Mayor Brandon Johnson also condemned Trump in remarks on WBEZ’s In the Loop.
“He’s unstable. We know that. He’s a double-minded man, and he is also very simple-minded,” Johnson said. “It’s totally not the first time that Trump has called for a Black man to be arrested. That’s not the first time. Look, I have a responsibility to defend Chicago, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
ICE Clashes and Lawsuits
The confrontation comes amid a series of tense clashes between federal immigration enforcement and Illinois officials.
Federal prosecutors recently dismissed charges against a Chicago couple arrested for carrying loaded pistols outside the Broadview ICE facility.
Prosecutors also filed charges against two individuals, including a woman shot five times by federal agents during a car ramming incident involving a border patrol agent in Brighton Park.
Illinois and Chicago have filed a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Chicago. Pritzker has labeled the operations a “military-style invasion.”
At a press briefing, Pritzker showed reporters DHS video of recent ICE raids, including one in South Shore where a U.S. citizen was zip-tied and children were loaded into U-Haul vans without clothing.
A Defiant Note of Humor
Despite the heightened stakes, Pritzker struck a darkly humorous note during an event in Minnesota with Gov. Tim Walz. Asked if he sincerely believed he could be arrested, Pritzker quipped: “I’m asking any of you to come visit me in the gulag in El Salvador.”
High-Stakes Political Theater
The fiery exchange highlights Trump’s growing use of authoritarian rhetoric against political opponents a trend that has alarmed Democrats and civil rights advocates. Pritzker and Johnson, meanwhile, are using the attacks to rally support against Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics, which they argue are unconstitutional, inhumane, and politically motivated. As the federal lawsuit unfolds and immigration enforcement remains a flashpoint, the clash between Trump and Illinois leaders is likely to intensify, shaping the broader national debate over democracy, executive power, and civil liberties.
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