Hello and welcome to the latest developments in US politics. We begin with the report that a limited contingent of National Guard troops has begun guarding federal property in the Chicago area and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.
Deployment Details
An element of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Chicago area, according to a representative for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the news agency on background basis in order to reveal mission specifics that have not been made public.
The troops are in the city to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and other government properties and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command stated publicly.
The troops, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, 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 activated for 60 days. The spokesperson wasn't able to quickly provide information about how the personnel were equipped.
Background Situation
It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the state governor, accusing them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.
"Chicago Mayor should be in prison for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "The state governor also!"
Both the mayor and governor are Democrats. Trump's remarks coincide with national guard troops have started deployment in the Greater Chicago region at the order of the federal administration, despite objections from state authorities, including the governor and mayor.
Other Updates
- Donald Trump announced that the conflicting parties have agreed to a provisional agreement to cease hostilities in Gaza, and release captured individuals and detained persons.
- Reports about the Middle East deal was applauded by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be given the peace award this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Palestinian Americans.
- During White House event, Trump seemed unfamiliar with the term 'Habeas Corpus' and referred to Kristi Noem. In May, the secretary gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the core legal principle that mandates that the government provide a public reason for arresting and jailing people.
- All of the witnesses who provided statements at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the president on Wednesday were identified as freelance reporters who might better be called partisan conservative social media influencers. The influencers cover leftwing protests in a partisan fashion, more similar to opposition research than nonpartisan reporting.
- GOP senators voted down a military authorization measure that would have limited Trump's authority to use lethal armed action against suspected drug smugglers after Democrats tried to counter the government's unprecedented deployment of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean Sea.
- During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least a participant echoed Trump's inaccurate statement that significant amounts of people have been murdered by political extremists in Portland, Oregon. The correct number of killings by political activists in Portland is: a single incident.
