🔗 Share this article

Kristi Noem, who serves as Donald Trump's top security official, labeled Chicago as "a combat zone" on Sunday. This occurred following government officers injured a female, and the governor of Illinois claimed the administration of fueling the situation instead of resolving it.

Noem's Appearance on Fox News

During an appearance on a news channel Sunday morning, Noem criticized the Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson. Johnson has publicly opposed of the federal immigration operations and sending of the national guard in Illinois, an action he called "irrational and harmful".

"It’s wrong, there should be consequences for that and for leaders that speak out and deliberately mislead about the actual conditions," Noem stated. "His city is a battlefield and he’s lying so that lawbreakers can enter and harm residents."

Federal Action and The President's Order

Noem’s remarks followed the president's order to deploy 300 members of the Illinois national guard to Chicago, with orders to safeguard government agents and property. This action happened just shortly after national guard troops were dispatched to Washington, where the president federalized the city’s police force in what he described as a "crackdown" on crime, a strategy now extending to a string of other US cities. "We will address Chicago probably next," the president stated at the time.

Noem's Defense of Government Measures

The governor supported the administration’s course of action, insisting on Fox that locals backed the government intervention. "Residents know that where we have gone we have made it much more free," she said. "Safety has improved, we have got a thousand criminals that are no longer roaming of Chicago, just because we’ve been there."

State Leader JB Pritzker Responds

Appearing on a CNN program Sunday, the Democratic Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, claimed the federal government of escalating the problem rather than solving it. "It is they who are turning it into a battlefield," he said.

"They must leave of Chicago. If they’re not going to focus on the most dangerous criminals, which is what the president said they intend to do, they need to get the heck out."

Federal Agents Shooting Details

Federal officers on Saturday shot and injured a female while shooting at someone who attempted to hit them. The woman who was shot was a US citizen and was carrying a semi-automatic weapon, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated, noting that the woman was accused in a federal agency alert last week of revealing agents' private information.

The Governor's Criticism on Online Platform

Pritzker also condemned the action in a post on X on Saturday, writing: "The federal security agency presented a demand: call up your troops, or we will." He labeled the decision "completely unacceptable and against American values," and noted that it had been made "against our will".