Chicago mayor ridiculed for touting trans violence 'state of emergency' amid murder-plagued Juneteenth weekend

"Transfemicide" is defined as the "targeted killing of a transgender woman motivated by transphobic and misogynistic hatred." Critics were quick to point out that Johnson appears focused on promoting on Juneteenth weekend the fight against an obscure transgender violence category rather than the killing of black Chicagoans.

Johnson's office reupped the state of emergency on Sunday after it was first implemented in 2024.

A report on the subject suggests that violence against transgender women, particularly black, indigenous people of color (BIPOC) transgender women, is endemic in Chicago. 

But the report does not mention how many transgender women have been killed in the city, and admittedly includes suicides in the "transfemicide" category despite the term's definition. An image at the top of the paper features 21 people and their photos, presumably transgender women who have died in Chicago.

"Nobody knows what a 'Transfemicide State of Emergency' is," said Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, on X. "This is what the Mayor of Chicago is focused on."

President Donald Trump blasted Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for the violence on Saturday, and offered federal help to quell the chaos.

He touted success in slowing violent crime in Washington, D.C. by bringing in National Guard troops and federal law enforcement.