North Cook News

As thousands gathered across northern Cook County for “No Kings” protests opposing former President Donald Trump’s policies, Northfield Township Republican Committeeman T.J. Brown spoke out.

Protests took place in communities including Schaumburg, Evanston, Buffalo Grove, Palatine, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights over the weekend as part of the national movement.

Schaumburg and Evanston each drew more than 3,000 participants.

Prior to the gatherings Brown cautioned that recent events have blurred the line between free expression and provocation.

“A provocateur in Northbrook put up a sign (with the permission of the village) in the middle of town essentially comparing Trump to Hitler because of his immigration policy,” Brown told North Cook News. “He's free to say what he wants but his emotional blackmail should be called out for what it was considering that during the period the sign was up, a migrant from Egypt set fire to people demonstrating on their own, including a Holocaust survivor.” 

While Brown expressed concerns about recent protests, he also highlighted the need for calm and respectful expression.

“I support peaceful demonstrations that do not disrupt other peoples' lives,” Brown said. “I would hope those protesting and counterprotesting consider the tone of their remarks.”  

His concerns came on the heels of a violent June 10 protest in Chicago targeting ICE, where demonstrators vandalized police vehicles, defaced a Tesla with swastikas, damaged public monuments and assaulted multiple police officers. 

Seventeen individuals were arrested.

“Tuesday’s protest was destructive,” Brown said.  

He specifically pointed to a protest flyer stating that the goal was to ensure “ICE doesn’t see a moment of peace,” which Brown said echoed Governor J.B. Pritzker’s “incendiary” comments in Manchester, New Hampshire.

“Pritzker called for this,” Brown said. 

In late April Pritzker delivered a fiery speech in Manchester, N.H., calling for mass protests and continuous disruption against Republicans, which energized Democrats but angered Republicans. 

"These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace," Pritzker said at the time. "They have to know we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box."

At the time, Republican Majority Leader Jason Osborne condemned the remarks made by Pritzker, who is considered a likely contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.

"Those Chicago gangster tactics just don't play here in New Hampshire, where Granite Staters expect us to get to work solving problems," Osborne said immediately after Pritzker's comments. "Having riots in the street, shouting in megaphones, burning cities down like we saw for six months back in 2020, that's not what Americans want. That is not what they elected us to do."

Brown also expressed concern about such rhetoric surrounding the protests and the influence of political leadership on activist messaging.

“Different groups sponsoring the protest are parroting the words of our leaders,” Brown said.

Images from the June 10 riot in downtown Chicago. (Terry Newsome)