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Lawmaker warns of "authoritarian actions," says Trump is "mobilizing" troops to Chicago and urges GOP to speak out
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Summary
A lawmaker on the legislative floor said former President Donald J. Trump, aided by the Texas governor, is "mobilizing" "2 or 300 troops" to Chicago and urged Republican colleagues to publicly oppose the move, calling the actions "terrifying" and saying "enough is enough."
A lawmaker on the floor warned Monday that "Donald John Trump, with the assistance of the Texas governor," was "mobilizing" what the speaker described as "2 or 300 troops" to Chicago and urged Republican colleagues to publicly condemn the move.
The lawmaker, speaking from the floor, said they were "honestly scared" and framed the remarks around an oath to the Constitution and a pattern of what they called escalating rhetoric and actions by Trump. "He's going through with these authoritarian actions," the lawmaker said, arguing that past statements by Trump had been followed by concrete legal or enforcement steps.
The speaker cited an example they said linked rhetoric to legal consequence: "The last time he posted that 1 of his political enemies should be jailed, it was James Comey and then James Comey was indicted. This morning he plead not guilty, his trial is in January," the lawmaker said.
On the troop movement, the lawmaker said the deployment had proceeded "over the objection of the Illinois governor" and characterized the purpose as unclear: "to go into Chicago to do nobody knows really what other than to terrorize people." The remarks included a vivid image of troops "belaying off a helicopter into an apartment building in urban Chicago."
The speaker challenged colleagues who minimize the actions as "theater," asking, "Are we to assume he's kidding this time? Are you sure he's kidding this time?" and urging Republican colleagues "who sworn out to the constitution and love this country just like I do, to say publicly or privately, I don't care. Enough is enough."
The comments closed as the lawmaker yielded the floor. The floor remarks included no formal motion or vote and no other speakers responded in the transcript provided.
The remarks included accusations and characterizations presented by the lawmaker; the transcript contains no independent confirmation of the deployment details or of the legal status of events the speaker referenced.
