Chicago Mayor Has Message For Potential Looters: 'Don't Test Us'

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot had a message for anyone considering a repeat of rioting in response to the pending verdict in the trial of a Minneapolis cop charged with George Floyd's murder: "Don't test us. Don't test us."

"We are ready. We are prepared, and we are ready to arrest and bring to prosecution anyone who would dare try to take the dreams of our small businesses by looting Don’t test us, because we are ready," the mayor said Tuesday at an unrelated news conference.

Chicago's downtown and some neighborhood business districts were destroyed by rioters and looters following Floyd's death in May. Last year, Lightfoot said protest of Floyd's death under the knee of Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin turned into "organized and choreographed" acts of destruction that caused millions of dollars in damage and stolen merchandise.

On Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker activated the National Guard at Lightfoot's request as a precaution in anticipation of the jury verdict in the trial of Chauvin, who charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's May 2020 death.