Hello and welcome to the latest developments in US politics. We start with the news that a small number of National Guard troops has begun guarding federal property in the Greater Chicago region and assisting law enforcement in Memphis on Wednesday, as confirmed by authorities.
Deployment Details
An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were working 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 discuss operational details that have not been made public.
The military personnel are in the urban area to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command stated publicly.
The forces, along with about 300 from Illinois, had arrived Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been deployed for 60 days. The spokesperson wasn't able to immediately offer information about how the troops were armed.
Background Situation
It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the imprisonment of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's city leader, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, charging them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
"The city's mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!" 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 coincide with state military forces have begun arriving in the Greater Chicago region at the direction of the Trump administration, despite opposition from state authorities, including the governor and mayor.
Other Updates
- Donald Trump announced that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a provisional agreement to end the fighting in Gaza, and release captured individuals and Palestinian prisoners.
- Reports about the Middle East deal was praised by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be given the peace award this week, but received with greater caution by Palestinian Americans.
- During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'Habeas Corpus' and referred to Kristi Noem. In May, Noem gave a highly incorrect definition of the core legal principle that mandates that the government provide a public reason for arresting and jailing people.
- All of the participants who provided statements at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the administration on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might more accurately described as partisan conservative social media influencers. The influencers cover leftwing protests in a highly political manner, more similar to opposition research than nonpartisan reporting.
- GOP senators voted down a war powers resolution that would have checked Trump's authority to use deadly military force against suspected drug smugglers after opposition party tried to counter the government's extraordinary use of the military to eliminate vessels in the Caribbean.
- During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least one witness repeated Trump's inaccurate statement that large numbers of people have been murdered by political extremists in the Oregon city. The accurate count of fatal incidents by political activists in Portland is: a single incident.
