CHICAGO, Ill. (WMAQ/NBC) – Demonstrators took to the streets in Chicago Monday night to protest President Trump’s plan to send federal forces in military uniforms to crack down on violence.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot went on national television to attack the plan, and challenge the president.
At the city’s Federal Plaza early Monday night, Refuse Fascism Chicago, along with half a dozen other groups, protested what they call, escalating problems. “The federal agents occupying Portland,” protester Makayla Pye said.
Jay Becker with Refuse Fascism Chicago said, “We are witnessing a major escalation toward a police state in this country.”
Facing threats that federal agents will be sent to Chicago — like they are in Portland Oregon — Mayor Lightfoot said on MSNBC democracy is at stake. “That’s not going to happen and I will use all my power to stop them,” Lightfoot said.
She wrote a letter to President Trump saying what the city really needs is leadership “at all levels of government.”
“We’re not going to have people that don’t know our streets operating at will in our cities,” Lightfoot said on MSNBC.
The letter asks for resources in two major areas of public health: guns and COVID-19. This comes as the Chicago Police Union is asking for federal assistance.
Lightfoot said of the union stance, “We have an unhinged leader of the fraternal order of police and is trying to get attention.”
Monday night, police on bikes and protesters appear to, again, be at odds as the protesters made their way throughout the downtown area for hours, stopping traffic along the way.
Freedom First International organizer Bishop Gregg Greer said, “You can express your constitutional rights and your freedoms without threat or fear of being harassed.”
Mayor Lightfoot said she will “not have tyranny” in Chicago. Regarding a lawsuit against the Trump administration, she said the city will be prepared if it comes to that.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.