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Campaign of intimidation: Krishnamoorthi slams Trump’s Illinois deployment
The Illinois Democrat argued that the deployment is politically motivated and undermines core democratic principles.
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Staff Reporter - Mon, 06, Oct 2025
- 16:37 EDT
- 30
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi / REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) on Oct. 6 criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy Texas National Guard troops into Illinois, calling the move an abuse of executive power.
“President Trump is waging a militarized campaign of intimidation against our own citizens,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “His decision to deploy Texas National Guard troops into Illinois—over Governor Pritzker’s objections—is a shocking abuse of power and a dangerous step toward normalizing the use of U.S. troops against Americans.”
Also Read: Illinois becomes latest battleground in court fights over Trump’s use of National Guard
The Illinois Democrat argued that the deployment is politically motivated and undermines core democratic principles. “This deployment isn’t about public safety; it’s about fear and control,” he said. “Turning federal power against Americans betrays the principles on which our nation was founded.”
Krishnamoorthi emphasized that Illinois communities should not be treated as staging grounds for political theater. “Illinois is not at war, our neighborhoods are not battlefields, and our communities are not props in a political spectacle,” he said. “I stand with Governor Pritzker in demanding accountability and defending the rule of law.”
The president’s directive has already sparked a legal confrontation. On Oct. 6, Illinois and the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit to block the deployment, arguing that it violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement, and infringes on the Tenth Amendment’s protections of state authority.
Governor JB Pritzker, however, blasted the decision as an “invasion” carried out without consultation. “There is no reason a President should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation,” he said in a statement, warning that Illinois neighborhoods must not be treated as “battlefields in a political spectacle.”
The White House and Texas officials have defended the plan as necessary to safeguard federal personnel and facilities amid ongoing demonstrations in Chicago related to Operation Midway Blitz, a federal immigration enforcement drive launched last month.
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