Pritzker says Trump administration intends to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard members
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement on Saturday that the Trump administration intends to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard members after he was offered an ultimatum on troop deployment.
"This morning, the Trump Administration's Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will," he said. "It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will."
The White House later confirmed the plans.
"Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders like Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has authorized 300 national guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets," Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told CBS News in a statement. "President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities."
This comes amid clashes between protesters and federal agents in Broadview, Illinois, where, within the past couple of weeks, over a dozen protesters were arrested, including seven on Friday.
Authorities also said a woman was shot by a federal agent on Saturday in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood after agents' cars were boxed in.
"They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance -- not a serious effort the protect public safety. For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control," Pritzker said.
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Border Patrol official Greg Bovino were in Chicago overseeing ICE operations.
"I want to be clear: there is no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois," the governor said. "State, county, and local law enforcement have been working together and coordinating to ensure public safety around the Broadview ICE facility, and to protect people's ability to peacefully exercise their constitutional rights. I will not call up our National Guard to further Trump's acts of aggression against our people."
On Tuesday, Pritzker said the Trump administration was seeking to deploy 100 troops to protect ICE in Illinois. Pritzker this week also called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked after the president told senior military leaders that he had told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that cities like Chicago should serve as "training grounds" for troops.
"In Illinois, we will do everything within our power to look out for our neighbors, uphold the Constitution, and defend the rule of law," Pritzker said.
It was not clear late Saturday when the troops may be on the ground.
"Realistically, within 96 hours, they should be able to," said retired Army Maj. Richard Hayes, the former Illinois National Guard adjutant general.
Normally, the Illinois governor would be the commander in chief of the state's National Guard. But federalizing the guard will change that,
"They'll be under the command of [U.S. Northern Command]," Hayes said. "No longer will they be in control of the governor or the adjutant general, so they will be subject to whatever orders they get through the Department of Defense."
A spokesperson for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement that the attorney general's office will not hesitate to take legal action in the event of an unlawful deployment in Illinois.
CBS News Chicago has also reached out to the Illinois National Guard, but has yet to hear back.