BREAKING: Trump finally executes INSANE plan

This is Democracy Watch. Mark, it looks. like the threats that Donald Trump has. been uh leveling against Chicago are. finally bearing themselves out. Uh it. looks like the DHS, Department of. Homeland Security, is launching. Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Can. you explain first and foremost the. legality of this move? And we're going. to talk a little bit in in a few moments. about the cases that are ongoing in. California, but on its face, the. legality of being able to send uh uh. federal troops into Chicago. >> Yeah. First of all, shame on all of the. legacy media that kept saying, "Well,

Donald Trump hasn't decided what he's. going to do with Chicago." We knew what. he was going to do in Chicago. You and I. talked about what he was going to do in. Chicago. Anyone paying attention to what. Donald Trump said knew what he was going. to do in Chicago. So, he has launched. this effort um as he himself said he was. going to and then the legacy media found. every excuse in the book to hedge it. But um you know this is going to start. with ICE agents, with DHS agents, with. other federal law enforcement uh. operating uh in the city. Um and you.

know, look, that is going to largely be. legal. Um they are federal law. enforcement. They are entitled to. enforce the nation's immigration laws. Now, whether they do it in a fashion. that complies with the US Constitution, whether they do it in a way that. complies with due process is something. to be seen. And I'm not yet ready to say. they won't. But let's just say we should. all be looking. There's a reason why the. governor has correctly said people need. to take video of what's going on. But I. think the real story here, Brian, is.

stage two. And this goes to the uh the. what Donald Trump posted over the. weekend about, you know, the Department. of War and Chicago because I think that. this is all a thinly veiled pretext to. create a conflict, create a standoff. like we saw in parking lots in Los. Angeles. I mean, it wasn't much that we. saw in Los Angeles that that was the. pretext to to sending in uh the Marines. and and and the National Guard. And I.

think that will be the next shoot to. drop and we all need to be prepared for. it because that one is probably as it. was in LA going to violate the federal. posi commitatus act. But whether Donald. Trump will care, no. The question is. whether the legacy media will report it. accurately and the people of Chicago and. around the country will wake up to. what's happening and they'll speak out. You know, when we saw the same thing. happen in Los Angeles, Trump used the. presence of ICE and the largely expected.

push back in in Los Angeles to ICE as a. pretext to be able to send in uh the. National Guard. We now know that that is. largely illegal because we've heard from. Judge Brier in a trial court in. California uh that he wasn't allowed to. send those troops in to do uh to do uh. law enforcement work. That case is now. in front of the Ninth Circuit. But where. does that leave Trump in terms of the. same thing happening in Chicago? How. much of a deterrent is that? Um, how. much of a legal deterrent is that?

>> Yeah. So, I want to make sure people are. really tracking, Brian, what you and I. are talking about when we talk about a. pretext. Okay. What what Donald Trump is. doing is he is sending in federal law. enforcement in an overly aggressive way. with the desired outcome from his. standpoint of triggering protests. Okay? So when we talk about when we talk about. like you know triggering a response. we're talking about people who are upset.

understandably upset at what is. happening in their communities and they. are making their displeasure known. Now, might they be doing it by taking. shopping carts in a in a parking lot at. a Home Depot in Los Angeles that we all. saw videos of and, you know, trying to. barricade the parking lot in some. makeshift way? Yes. But is that outside. of the capability of the LAPD to. control? No. Is that outside the ability. of the Chicago Police Department to keep.

law and order? No. But then he uses that. as a pretext to send in not only in LA. the National Guard, remember Brian, he. sent in the Marines, right? He sent in. he sent in active duty Marines into uh. into Los Angeles. And that is ultimately. what Judge Brier found to be illegal. because these these law enforcement. these um these federal uh troops were. performing policing functions which. they're not allowed to do under federal. law under a law passed in the 1870s.

called the Posiccomatus Act. Okay. So, what is the likelihood that we see this. repeat in Chicago? Bryant, my fear, my. fear is that he's actually trying going. to try to trigger a bigger response in. Chicago than he even gotten in in LA. And I think Tom Hman has been signaling. that if you watch what some of his. comments have been, the White House. borders are um and and if you look at. what Donald Trump has posted on his. social media, it looks like he is, you. know, uh he is um uh he is trying to go.

an even bigger response than we saw in. LA uh to give an even further excuse. And then finally, I'd add Brian, you. know, this was some reporting that. Democracy Ducket did, you know, a week. ago based on uh on what uh Governor. Pritsker said. Remember, Governor. Pritsker said that he believes that this. time when there's a deployment, it won't. come from the National Guard from. Illinois, right? And California came. from the National Guard in in. California. He he suggested that it may. come from National Guard's uh men and. women from out of state. uh he mentioned.

Texas and that would again be a further. provocation, a further way of inciting. among the citizenry uh of Illinois uh. further reactions in an effort to again. escalate. You know, I mean I I you know, maybe you can put up on the screen what. Christine Gnome said when Joe Biden was. in the White House about what she. thought would happen if Joe Biden put in. the National Guard. >> Right now, put that right here on the. screen. She had said back in 2024, uh,

if Biden federalizes the National Guard, and he was talking about, uh, handling. border issues, then we've got a war on. our hands. >> Democrats have been encouraging this. president, they've been encouraging. President Biden to come after our. state's rights. They've been talking. about federalizing our National Guard, which would be the first time in. American history, that we would have a. president that would pay soldiers to. stand down, to actually not protect. America. Uh, and if he's willing to do. that and to take away my authority as. governor, as commander-in-chief of those. National Guard, boy, we do have a war on.

our hands. >> Wow. >> Yeah. Right. I mean, now that was when. she was the governor of South Dakota. Now, she is the head of DHS who's in. charge of all this. >> Yeah. >> You have Donald Trump actually posting. on social media that there will be a war. in Chicago. You have uh Tom Hman going. on uh the cable uh talk shows this. weekend and saying it will be a war, but. it's not a war in Chicago. It's a war. against these gangs and all that. I. mean, will the real Christy Gnome stand. up or is there a real Christy Gnome? You. know, or is this just all situational?

>> Yeah. I mean, honestly, I think uh I. think whatever whatever whatever allows. Christine Gnome to fail up the fastest. and the farthest uh she is taking her. cues from the Nancy Mes of the party and. the Marco Rubios of the party. Whatever. you have to do to expose yourself as the. biggest, most obquous supplicant to. Donald Trump, that is the path that. these people are going to take. If it. means they have to uh uh prove. themselves out to be a hypocrite, if it. means they have to uh contradict their. own statements, so be it. That is the. that is the just the the cost of their.

dignity is clearly a price that that. these people are willing to pay. Mark, what would you recommend that the people. of Chicago do in response to this? And I. asked that because if if Chicagoans take. to the streets and exercise their First. Amendment rights, the administration is. going to view this as some escalation. and they're going to say, "Look, all of. these people are on the streets right. now. Now we have no choice but to send. in federal troops or the National Guard. or the Marines. But if they do nothing, then that is the very capitulation that. we've been decrying. And frankly, none. of this is acceptable. And so to do.

nothing is basically to allow him uh to. to know that he's got cart blanch to do. it in Chicago and then you know the. subsequent cities next Philadelphia, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Detroit, whatever it. may be. So, what's the response here. given the fact that either way it could. feel like a lose-lose no matter how we. respond? >> Look, I think that Governor Pritkar has. been handling this 100% correctly. I. don't think you can back down from a. bully. I don't think you should tell. people um that they need to cower in.

fear. I do think that people need to. exercise their first amendment rights, but they need to do it within the scope. of the first amendment. You know, Martin. Luther King Jr. was successful because. he led a nonviolent movement. It was a. disciplined movement of nonviolence. It. it it brought the spotlight to the the. wrongness of what was happening in the. Jim Crow South, but it did not allow. itself to get out of control and. therefore be able to be blamed. So, I.

think the people of Chicago need to. protest uh lawfully. I think they need. to protest loudly and peacefully. And I. think that they need to keep the moral. high ground in that in that so that they. do not offer an easy pretext uh for what. Donald Trump wants. But I don't think. that cowering and hiding um is ever. going to be successful uh with Donald. Trump. >> Is there any way that his comments uh. preceding all of this, which were, you. know, something along the lines of now.

the people of Chicago are going to, you. know, get to get to know what the. Department of War is really about? Is. there some way that that Pritsker and. Illinois could use his comments against. him if and when this thing is challenged. in court? >> Absolutely. I mean, absolutely. If you. want to know um intent, you know, there. is no better intent than to hear out of. the the defendants's mouth themselves. what they said. And Donald Trump posted. what he posted. And you know, all of the. Republicans can act like that they. didn't know what he meant and they.

didn't understand this and they didn't. see it. But the fact is he said what he. said and that will be exhibit one in any. lawsuit that JB Pritsker and the state. of Illinois and the city of Chicago. brings against the Trump administration. I can promise you almost with a. certainty that that'll be the case. >> Does intent matter or does it just. matter what actually happens? The net. effect, the practical result of his. actions. >> Uh no intent matters. Intent matters. I. mean, you know, ultimately the facts.

speak for themselves, but but you. interpret facts through the prism of how. people intend them to be interpreted, you know, and if Donald Trump intended. this to be the the use of the military. against a US city, then that goes a long. way towards explaining whether or not if. they deploy the military, what its. purpose was, whether it was whether it. was foreseeable uh that that what would. happen uh what happened would happen. So.

no, I think it is very relevant. I think. that Donald Trump is oftentimes on the. losing end of litigation because he is. so clear about his intent. And I I've. talked about this before. It's one of. the reasons we have been very successful. in my in my litigation around voting and. free and fair elections. We've often. been very successful because Republicans. actually say what they intend to do. Donald Trump says what he intends to do. And that is oftentimes very very. powerful evidence. And I think that that. has also been true in some of these.

cases we've seen in the last seven. months, some of the Doge cases, some of. the appropriations cases, some of, you. know, where they've frozen money. You. know, Donald Trump has given the. plaintiffs the the sort of the road map. because he says, "I want to do something. that is illegal and unconstitutional.". And then the Department of Justice has. to wind up saying, "Well, he didn't. really do anything in uh illegal or. unconstitutional.". >> Well, you had mentioned the cases that. you're litigating and and it's true you. are one of the few people that's. actually fighting back where it matters. most, which is in the courts right now.

A small step that everybody who's. watching this video can take to support. Mark's work and to support fearless. independent journalism is to sign up for. Democracy Docket. It is the news outlet. Mark founded to focus on everything. voting in elections. An amazing. resource. I use it on a daily basis. this. We use it for the majority of our. our Democracy Watch videos right here. So, if you are not yet subscribed, please make sure to hit the subscribe. button. I'm going to put that link right. here on the screen and also in the post. description of this video. Great way to. support Mark, to support independent. media. I'm Brian Teler Cohen. >> I'm Mark Elias. >> This is Democracy Watch.

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