The president has already sent National Guard troops into Washington and federalized the nation’s capital’s police force.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about the relocation of U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, background, looks on as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, right, speaks during a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Chicago. said Tuesday that he’s ready to order federal authorities to mobilize and combat crime in Chicago and Baltimore, despiteAsked by reporters in the Oval Office about sending National Guard troops to the nation’s third-largest city, Trump said, “We’re going in,” but added, “I didn’t say when.”Local officials in Baltimore have joined Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in similarly opposing federal law enforcement intervention.He has said he plans similar moves in other Democrat-run cities even as a federal judge on Tuesday deemed theand Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat. Trump said he’d love to have Pritzker call and say, “Send in the troops” — even though the two-term governor has repeatedly said he won’t be doing that. He said if Pritzker would “call me up, I would love to do it,” Trump said. “Now, we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it. Because I have an obligation to protect this country and that includes Baltimore.”Pritzker deemed Trump’s comments to call him for help as “unhinged.” The two have been locked in an escalating war of words for days as Trump called Chicago “the world’s most dangerous city” earlier Tuesday. “No, I will not call the president asking him to send troops to Chicago,” Pritzker said Tuesday at a news conference with Johnson and other leaders. “I’ve made that clear already.”The state received its first contact about federal intervention on Saturday when the head of the Illinois State Police got a call from Gregory Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro, California, sector, saying immigration agents would come to Chicago, according to Pritzker. The governor said no further details were offered. Pritzker urged the public not to let the presence of federal agents spark tensions in the city but asked residents to look out for neighbors, and to film interactions with federal agents and share them publicly.Dozens of pastors write a letter to Trump Tuesday saying the focus should instead be on underfunded schools and unemployment.Johnson said violence in the city stems from guns on the streets that are trafficked to Illinois from neighboring states, including Republican-led Indiana. “Chicago will continue to have a violence problem as long as red states continue to have a gun problem,” Johnson said.Chicago’s homicide rate is 21.7 per 100,000 residents in 2024, according to analysis of federal crime data by the Rochester Institute of Technology. It cites seven other major U.S. cities — St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Indianapolis and Richmond, Virginia — with higher rates. Chicago reported 573 homicides in 2024, the most of any U.S. city that year. But violent crime dropped significantly in the first half of the year, representing the steepest decline in over a decade, according to city data. Shootings and homicides were down more than 30% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same time last year. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has said the city and state will sue once the federal intervention begins.Trump’s comments about Baltimore being included in his obligation to protect the country follows local officials in that city and Moore opposing federal law enforcement intervention. Moore spokesman David Turner said, “While we try to decipher exactly what the President meant today, the Governor has been consistently clear: The use of the National Guard for municipal policing is theatrical and not sustainable.” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott listed some of the city’s recent accomplishments in curbing gun violence. Scott has repeatedly accused the president of using racist rhetoric and targeting Black-led cities, like Baltimore and Chicago. “Here’s the reality in Baltimore,” Scott wrote on X, noting that Baltimore homicides have reached historic lows amid sustained declines including the lowest number of homicides on record for the month of August.The White House announced separately Tuesday that more than 1,650 people have been arrested since the Trump administration first mobilized federal officials on Aug. 7. “This was a beautiful thing that happened in Washington,” Trump said “because we showed that it could be done.”Associated Press writers Lea Skene in Baltimore and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report. Tareen reported from Chicago.Dear Abby: He's the ideal man for me, but I feel like everyone is judging usDear Abby: I think it's rude to talk about kids in front of non-parentsFounding member of acclaimed San Jose rock band dies at 58Miss Manners: We're the bride's parents, and we're getting stiffedSanta Clara County hoped to build 4,800 new homes with Measure A money. How did they exceed that goal by 38%? Santa Clara County hoped to build 4,800 new homes with Measure A money. How did they exceed that goal by 38%?
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Trump says he will order federal intervention in Chicago and BaltimorePresident Donald Trump says he plans to direct federal law enforcement intervention in Chicago and Baltimore. Local officials in both cities oppose such moves. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, 'We're going in,' but did not specify when. He has already sent National Guard troops into Washington and federalized D.C.
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Trump says he will order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore despite local oppositionPresident Donald Trump says he plans to direct federal law enforcement intervention in Chicago and Baltimore.
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Trump says he will order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore despite local oppositionLocal officials in both places oppose such moves.
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Trump says he will order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore despite local oppositionPresident Donald Trump says he plans to direct federal law enforcement intervention in Chicago and Baltimore.
Read more »
Trump says he will order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore despite local oppositionPresident Donald Trump says he plans to direct federal law enforcement intervention in Chicago and Baltimore.
Read more »
Trump says he will order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore despite local oppositionThe president has already sent National Guard troops into Washington and federalized the nation’s capital’s police force.
Read more »