Mayor Lightfoot Continues to Reject Trump’s Help as Mass Shooting Ensues
On Tuesday evening, a total of 14 people were wounded after a violent mass shooting took place outside a funeral home in Chicago. Despite the brewing tension, Democrat and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot continued to deny that the city needed President Donald Trump’s federal assistance.
In a social media post, the Democrat slammed Trump for sending federal officials to de-escalate the growing political unrest in the city. “Under no circumstances will I allow Donald Trump’s troops to come to Chicago and terrorize our residents,” the Mayor wrote.
Under no circumstances will I allow Donald Trump’s troops to come to Chicago and terrorize our residents.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 21, 2020
The Mayor followed up with another tweet, this time, it was directly aimed at Trump, “Mr. President or not—I don’t care one bit what your name is.” Lightfoot then vowed that she will do everything in her “power” to stop the President’s troops from coming into the city.
A day before, Lightfoot appeared in an interview with left-wing media MSNBC. The Chicago Mayor claimed that the country’s “democracy” is in danger. The Democrat also declared that under no circumstance will she deploy the President’s troops in the city and raise fear among the residents. “I’m going to use every tool at my disposal to stop them,” Lightfoot warned.
According to a statement by Chicago Police First Deputy Supt. Eric Carter, at least 14 people were wounded after a black vehicle parked in the city’s Gresham neighborhood. The suspects then opened fire at a crowd that was gathered outside a funeral home.
The Democrat’s response came after the President told reporters on Monday that he is planning to deploy federal officers as violence continues to escalate as a result of Black lives Matter protests. Trump began by expressing his concern over the number of people that were killed over the weekend. He also blasted the city’s elected officials, who were mostly led by Democrats. Trump said that they would look into the situation to quell the unrest. He also cited other cities that continue to struggle with violence such as New York, Baltimore, Oakland, and Detroit.
The commander-in-chief was referring to the sudden surge in violence Chicago. In fact, on Monday alone, 25 people were shot, and three died. The weekend saw worse with over 50 shooting incidents and six deaths.
In a report from the Chicago Tribune, the media outlet claimed that Trump is planning to send more officers after repeated pleas to “tramp down the violence” in the city. The local media outlet cites that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is planning to deploy as much as 150 agents in Chicago.
Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf reported that the situation had become increasingly violent, especially toward local law enforcement authorities. He claimed that anarchists have planted explosive fireworks, and broke down windows and doors to the courthouse. They have also thrown balloons filled with paints and metal pipes on police officers, while one demonstrator assaulted an officer with a hammer.
A snapshot of the violence we are seeing nightly in Portland for 47 days now:
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) July 16, 2020
-violent anarchists have repeatedly shot explosive fireworks into a courthouse
-violent anarchists have repeatedly broken windows and doors while attempting to take over courthouses pic.twitter.com/uGxkablXuP
Moreover, the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were also tasked to assist local police officers in their “crime-fighting efforts,” although the scope of their work was not yet confirmed.