National Guard Forces Currently Protecting Government Property in Greater Chicago Region, Authority Says

Greetings and welcome to the latest developments in US politics. We start with the news that a limited contingent of National Guard troops has started protecting government facilities in the Greater Chicago region and assisting law enforcement in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.

Troop Information

An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Greater Chicago region, according to a representative for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss mission specifics that have not been officially released.

The military personnel are in the urban area to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other government properties and police officers, Northern Command stated publicly.

The forces, along with about 300 from Illinois, had reached on Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles southwest of Chicago. All five hundred personnel are under the Northern Command and have been deployed for two months. The spokesperson wasn't able to immediately offer information about how the troops were armed.

Political Context

It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for 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 posted on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker also!"

Both the mayor and governor are Democrats. Trump's comments coincide with national guard troops have started deployment in the Chicago area at the order of the federal administration, despite objections from Illinois officials, including Pritzker and Johnson.

Additional Developments

• Donald Trump declared that the conflicting parties have accepted a provisional agreement to cease hostilities in Gaza, and free Israeli hostages and detained persons.
• News of the Middle East deal was praised by GOP legislators, who called on Trump to be given the peace award this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Palestinian Americans.
• During presidential gathering, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'Habeas Corpus' and deferred to his homeland security secretary. In May, the secretary gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the fundamental legal concept that mandates that the government provide a public reason for arresting and jailing people.
• All of the witnesses who contributed testimony at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the administration on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might better be called partisan conservative social media influencers. The influencers cover leftwing protests in a highly political manner, more similar to political investigation than neutral journalism.
• 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 opposition party tried to counter the government's extraordinary use of the military to eliminate vessels in the Caribbean Sea.
• During the White House "political discussion" on Wednesday, at least a participant echoed Trump's false claim that large numbers of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in Portland, Oregon. The accurate count of fatal incidents by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: a single incident.