US federal agents have surged into the streets of Chicago, amid a battle between President Donald Trump and the Illinois state government over deploying the National Guard.
Mr Trump has said Chicago is rife with crime and has suggested federal troops be deployed to the city, as was done in Washington.
Video footage on social media shows agents in camouflage with their faces covered, walking in large groups down the city streets at the weekend. The agents appeared to mostly belong to Customs and Border Protection.
In a now viral video, a man on an e-bike seemingly taunts agents in the downtown area, with the cyclist shouting that he is not a US citizen. Several agents give chase, but the cyclist narrowly escapes.
It comes as Mr Trump has escalated his rhetoric against Chicago and other US cities over what he claims are high crime rates. Earlier this month, Mr Trump posted an AI-generated picture of himself in military fatigues with the caption “I love the smell of deportations in the morning” − a reference to the film Apocalypse Now.
Last week, Mr Trump announced he was deploying the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, to crack down on what he called “domestic terrorism”.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has accused the Trump administration of using “provocative” tactics, while Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said the presence of more federal agents “is not making anybody safer”.
“It’s a show of intimidation, instilling fear in our communities and hurting our businesses,” Mr Pritzker said. “We cannot normalise militarising American cities and suburbs.”
