Members of the Texas National Guard have been seen at an Army Reserve Training Center in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, ABC News has learned.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday shared a photo on social media showing what he called the state’s “elite” National Guard boarding a plane, but he did not say where they were headed.
Groups of soldiers have been seen walking the grounds of that Elwood training center, with most of the troops apparently having arrived on Monday night, according to ABC News’ Chicago station WLS.
“Illinois will not let the Trump administration continue on their authoritarian march without resisting,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said. “We will use every lever at our disposal to stop this power grab because military troops should not be used against American communities.”
Pritzker said at a news conference on Monday that over the weekend, he called on Abbott “to immediately withdraw his support of this decision” to send the Texas National Guard members to Chicago.
Earlier Tuesday, Abbott had replied to Pritzker on social media, saying, “I fully authorized the President to call up 400 members of the Texas National Guard to ensure safety for federal officials.”
The deployment drew outrage from Democratic leaders, as well as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“Donald Trump declared war on Chicago. That’s what he did. What the Trump administration is doing is intentionally fomenting chaos,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “The federal government is out of control. This is one of the most dangerous times in our nation’s history.”
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