Politics & Government
President Trump Threatened To Use The Insurrection Act In Chicago And Illinois, But Never Did
The state filed a lawsuit the next day to block the deployment.
Updated on: January 16, 2026
President Trump threatened Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests in Minnesota after two shootings, one fatal, by ICE agents there. He previously threatened to do so in Chicago, but never followed through.
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In early October 2025, as Operation Midway Blitz was getting properly underway, it was revealed that the president had called up hundreds of National Guard members from Illinois and Texas to deploy in Chicago and other parts of the state, claiming there was "ongoing violent riots and lawlessness."
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker rejected those claims outright at the time, saying, "It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will."
