200 troops of the Texas National Guard were seen loading a plane to hit the streets of Chicago.
A flight tracker indicates a National Guard C-17 aircraft from Texas landed at Grissom Air Reserve Base near Peru, Indiana, Monday night around 11 p.m.
WRTV reached out to the Governor's offices of Texas, Indiana and Illinois, as well as local and federal agencies.
The Texas Military would not comment on its mission or confirm if national guardsmen made a stop at Grissom Air Reserve Base while on their journey to Chicago.
However, a source at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, confirms Texas guard members activated by the president to conduct public safety operations in Chicago departed their facility on a U.S. Military Globemaster C-17 transport plane.
The Texas military spokesperson referred WRTV to the Pentagon.
In a statement sent to WRTV, a Pentagon official said:
200 federalized Texas National Guard troops, mobilized under 10 U.S.C. 12406, arrived in Illinois in support of the Federal Protection Mission to protecting federal functions, personnel, and property. The National Guardsmen were mobilized for an initial period of 60 days.
Additionally, mission updates on the Federal Protection Mission can be found at: https://www.northcom.mil/Missions/Homeland-Defense/Federal-Protection-Mission/ [northcom.mil]. USNORTHCOM is the mission lead and updates to the Federal Protection Mission will post on this site when they are available. For additional information, please reach out to USNORTHCOM Public Affairs.
"We have cities where there's tremendous crime, and Chicago is one of them, and if the governor can't straighten it out, we'll straighten it out," said President Donald Trump.
President Trump deployed those troops despite pushback from local leaders.
"This president is determined to federalize the National Guard and to occupy our cities with the military. It's unconscionable, it's unthinkable," said Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on social media, "Chicago will be saved," and that he is heading to Chicago.
Chicago will be saved, and this FBI will continue to crush violent crime there, and all around the country. Heading to the Windy City now.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 7, 2025
While the effects of the mission are unclear, no Hoosier troops have been deployed outside of the state.
The Indiana National Guard said it has 40 soldiers and airmen assisting ICE.
