Pritzker Claims Trump ‘Incited’ Anti-ICE Protestors to Become Violent: ‘They Make It Look Like It’s a War Zone’

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) continued to bash President Donald Trump for sending Border Patrol and ICE agents to Chicago on Sunday, with the governor saying protestors have been “incited to want to do something about it” — including becoming “appropriately” violent when they have been hit with tear gas and smoke grenades.

Pritzker shared his thoughts during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday. Here is what he said:

“[Trump] was claiming that, you know, it’s mayhem on the grounds on the streets of Portland. He’s saying that, you know, Chicago is a war zone. None of that is true. They’re just making this up.

“And then what do they do? They fire tear gas and smoke grenades, and they make it look like it’s a war zone. And they, you know, get people on the ground [who] are frankly incited to want do something about it, appropriately.

“I mean, if you were on the ground and you’re having tear gas pellets fired at you, as they have in Broadview, Illinois, you want to react, you want something to happen.”

Pritzker added the Trump Administration is using “every lever at their disposal to keep us from maintaining order.”

His Sunday comments come after more than a dozen people were arrested at an anti-ICE protest in Broadview, Illinois on Friday. Fox News reported observing “agents firing pepper balls, tear gas and rubber bullets to clear crowds blocking federal operations” at an ICE processing facility.

Things continued to escalate on Saturday, when federal agents were rammed and “boxed in by 10 cars,” including a woman with a semi-automatic gun who had posted online she wanted to ‘f*ck up’ ICE,’ Fox’s Bill Melugin reported.

Soon after,White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called on the full power of the federal government to dismantle “leftwing terrorism,” saying it’s “the only remedy” for what ails the United States.

Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have repeatedly criticized the president over the past few months for his plan to use the ICE and border patrol agents to deport illegal immigrants from The Windy City.

You can watch Pritzker discuss the situation with Tapper above, via CNN.