Greetings and welcome to the latest developments in US politics. We start with the report that a limited contingent of state military forces has begun guarding government facilities in the Greater Chicago region and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.
Troop Information
An element of 200 Texas Guard troops were operating in the Chicago area, as stated by a representative for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the news agency on condition of anonymity in order to reveal operational details that have not been made public.
The military personnel are in the city to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other federal facilities and police officers, Northern Command said online.
The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, had arrived Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the military command and have been deployed for 60 days. The spokesperson wasn't able to quickly provide information about how the personnel were equipped.
Political Context
It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the state governor, charging them of failing to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.
"The city's mayor should be in prison for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump wrote on his social media platform on Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker also!"
Both Johnson and Pritzker are members of the Democratic party. Trump's comments come as state military forces have begun arriving in the Chicago area at the order of the Trump administration, despite opposition from Illinois officials, including Pritzker and Johnson.
Other Updates
- Donald Trump announced that Hamas and Israel have accepted a tentative deal to cease hostilities in Gaza, and release Israeli hostages and detained persons.
- Reports about the Middle East deal was praised by GOP legislators, who called on Trump to be given the Nobel Peace prize this week, but received with greater caution by Palestinian Americans.
- During White House event, Trump seemed unfamiliar with the term 'legal principle' and deferred to his homeland security secretary. In May, Noem gave a highly incorrect explanation of the fundamental legal concept that mandates that the government provide a official justification for arresting and jailing people.
- All of the participants who contributed testimony at the White House "political discussion" organized by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might more accurately described as partisan conservative social media influencers. The content producers report on leftwing protests in a highly political manner, more similar to political investigation than nonpartisan reporting.
- GOP senators rejected a military authorization measure that would have limited Trump's authority to use lethal armed action against suspected drug smugglers after Democrats tried to oppose the administration's extraordinary use of the armed forces to destroy boats in the Caribbean Sea.
- During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least one witness echoed Trump's inaccurate statement that significant amounts of people have been murdered by left-wing radicals in Portland, Oregon. The correct number of killings by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: a single incident.
