Illinois governor sues as National Guard deployed to Chicago

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said he sued the Trump administration to block the deployment of hundreds of Texas National Guard troops to Chicago. Pritzker characterized the deployment as an invasion. The Trump administration also planned to federalize and deploy 300 Illinois National Guard troops without his consent, he said.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday said he called up 400 members of the Texas National Guard and federalized their control for deployment to Chicago and Portland, Ore. They would protect federal buildings and immigration authorities from assault, he said. They might be deployed to additional locations as well, he added. The deployment order came after tense and violent confrontations between immigration authorities and protesters in both cities.

What prompted National Guard deployment in Chicago? The order came after protesters mobbed immigration authorities’ vehicles and assaulted at least one agent, according to Homeland Security. A local man and woman allegedly used their cars to ram a Border Patrol vehicle driven by an agent. The suspects allegedly were accompanied by 10 other cars that boxed in the vehicle. The woman drove her car toward an agent who exited the CBP vehicle, and the agent fired at her five times, according to a criminal complaint filed Sunday. The woman was armed with a semiautomatic weapon, according to Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. Both the drivers then fled and were taken into custody. The Justice Department on Sunday charged the man and woman with assaulting and impeding a federal officer. They are presumed legally innocent until proven guilty in court.

Chicago police left the scene of the ramming and shooting and would not assist immigration authorities, McLaughlin wrote on social media. Other protesters followed federal agents in their cars through the city streets, driving inches away through traffic lights and on the wrong side of the road, according to the criminal complaint.

Dig deeper: Read my report on the arrest of four illegal immigrants in Portland who allegedly pointed a laser at federal aircraft.