ISTANBUL

A US military transport plane carrying members of the Texas National Guard appears to have landed in the US state of Indiana after President Donald Trump ordered their deployment to Illinois, public flight data show, according to a CNN report Monday night.

Citing a law enforcement source familiar with the operation, CNN reported that the troops departed from Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on Monday aboard a US military C-17 Globemaster transport plane. They were activated by Trump to conduct “public safety operations” in Chicago, though their exact role remains unclear.

The reported flight followed a post by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on the US social media company X, where he shared a photo and wrote: “The elite Texas National Guard. Ever ready. Deploying now.”

Earlier Monday, Illinois officials filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking to block the deployment, arguing that Trump’s order to federalize state troops was unconstitutional. The lawsuit, submitted by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to the federal court in Chicago, described the move as “illegal, dangerous, and unconstitutional.”

“Defendants’ deployment of federalized troops to Illinois is patently unlawful,” the filing said, urging the court to halt the federalization of members of both the Illinois and Texas National Guard. A US judge has given the Justice Department until midnight Wednesday to respond.

The White House defended Trump’s decision, saying the president “has exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers and assets” amid what it described as “violent riots and lawlessness.”

“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement on Saturday.