Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker marked one year since Operation Midway Blitz in a post on X. He said President Donald Trump sent federal agents to “terrorize” the state and repeated, “You come for my people, you come through me.” The 2025 campaign in the Chicago area led to lawsuits, protests, and a long public fight over its purpose. The anniversary post drew many replies, with users asking whom Pritzker meant by “my people.”
The video is a montage, not one continuous scene. It starts with armed officers on a street, then shows Pritzker at outdoor rallies, including one with a banner that says “ICE OFF CHICAGO.” Later clips have on-screen headlines, including “Supreme Court blocks Trump effort to deploy National Guard troops to Illinois,” “Nearly all immigrants detained in Trump Chicago raid had no criminal conviction,” and reports on an ICE-related shooting near Chicago and the shooting of Marimar Martinez. Those lines appear in the video; the footage does not prove them, and it does not show what happened before or after the street scenes.
The video then cuts to Pritzker speaking to camera in a suit, standing between U.S. and Illinois flags. In that segment, he says, “A year ago today, Donald Trump sent his troops to terrorize our state in Operation Midway Blitz,” talks about standing up to Donald Trump, says families were “forced to make the difficult decision,” refers to the Department of Homeland Security, and says officials should be “holding the Trump administration accountable.” He adds, “We may have gotten rid of Greg Bovino.”
The clip ends on a black screen as he repeats the line, also shown in text: “If you come for my people, you come through me.” In the post accompanying the video, Pritzker wrote that he had “witnessed the resilience of our communities and our people” and that “what I said then still rings true today.”
Viewers Split Over Pritzker’s Warning
Some users backed the governor. One wrote, “Proud of my Gov.!” Others circulated the line, “Here in the Land of Lincoln, we stand united against tyranny.”
A larger share of replies challenged the slogan and asked who Pritzker meant by “my people.” One quote-post asked, “Who’s running your state while you focus on Trump all day, every day?”
Another repeated, “You come for my people, you come through me,” and said he should answer for “ALL Illinoisans,” including taxpayers.
Separate comments argued that he was not speaking for “legal citizens of Illinois,” language that appeared in replies but was not in the video itself.
Other users focused on crime in Chicago. One asked, “How many have died since?”
Another wrote that “at least 59 [were] shot [and] 10 killed over the last 2 weekends in Chicago,” and said the governor would “rather play politics” than “protect his citizens.”
It remains unclear whether the anniversary post will shift the larger fight over last year’s Illinois operation. The video continues to circulate as users argue over Pritzker’s closing line and whom he was speaking for.
