Judge’s blistering opinion details use of force in Chicago-area immigration crackdown

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge’s blistering 223-page opinion has offered a cache of striking new details from body camera footage about agents’ use of force during a federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis’ opinion issued Thursday recounts many high-profile clashes between federal agents and protesters, repeatedly using body camera footage to refute the federal government’s narratives from court, use-of-force reports, filmed depositions and press releases. It describes scenes of agents launching tear gas without warning, aiming rubber rounds at reporters, tackling protesters and laughing as blood oozed from a demonstrator’s ear — incidents Ellis says were flatly at odds with the government’s own narratives.

Ellis expressed surprise about federal officials pointing her to specific videos, which she later found showed agents violating her orders restricting the use of force.

The opinion outlines Ellis’ findings in issuing a preliminary injunction earlier this month in response to a lawsuit filed by news outlets and protesters who claimed federal officers used excessive force during an immigration crackdown that has netted more than 3,000 arrests since September across the nation’s third-largest city and its many suburbs. Among other things, Ellis’ order restricted agents from using physical force and chemical agents like tear gas and pepper balls, unless necessary or to prevent an “an immediate threat.” She said the current practices violated the constitutional rights of journalists and protesters.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily halted the order, calling it “overbroad” and “too prescriptive.” But the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also cautioned against “overreading” its stay and said a quick appeal process could lead to a “more tailored and appropriate” order.

Judge says footage shows excessive force

The opinion delineates the results of Ellis’ review of extensive body-worn camera footage and testimony that she says reflected indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force as agents repeatedly used tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper balls and flashbangs without warnings or justification. It also described tense moments when Ellis says agents shot flash-bang grenades at the backs of protesters as they fled, kicked protesters on the ground, caused a car accident during a Halloween celebration, threatened to shoot residents while pointing guns at them, shot pepper balls at the heads of journalists and praying clergy members, and tackled protesters to the ground.

The opinion accuses federal agents of not following Ellis’ previous orders by using tear gas and other weapons on peaceful protesters, failing to give two explicit warnings before deploying munitions and not wearing clear identification.

It also described agents’ apparent delight as they lobbed tear gas canisters at protesters. One agent declared that “We’re definitely gassing them when we leave. Just start throwing (expletive)” and another said “We can (expletive) ’em up,” according to body camera footage described in the opinion.

Ellis also accused agents of “actively attempting to rile up the protesters,” making “dismissive remarks” and “laughing” while firing munitions at protesters. She described agents who “laughed and made jokes about tear gassing protesters” and were “pushing people to the ground and then laughing about it, even as blood oozed from the ears of someone they pushed.” In another instance, she described an agent saying ”No one can hear you” after tackling and arresting a reporter as he yelled that he was a journalist and sought out his colleague.

Judge criticizes Border Patrol leader

The judge also accused Greg Bovino, the senior U.S. Border Patrol official leading the immigration crackdown in the Chicago area, of being “evasive” and “outright lying” during his testimony, including by lying about being hit in the head with a rock during a protest in the predominantly Mexican American Chicago neighborhood of Little Village. Bovino repeatedly went back-and-forth between claiming he was hit with a rock before or after he fired tear gas at the crowd, according to the opinion.

In one instance after another, Ellis used footage to dispute claims by agents, including that Bovino saw Latin Kings gang members take weapons out of their car in Little Village and that a protester threw a bicycle at an agent. Body-worn camera footage also revealed that an agent used the AI tool ChatGPT to write the narrative for a report based off just a “brief sentence about an encounter and several images,” according to the opinion.

Taken together, Ellis said the documentation showed the federal government’s narrative was “simply not credible,” saying her review of the body camera footage supported plaintiffs’ allegations by “undermining all of Defendants’ claims.”

Pride in Chicago

Steeped in pride for Chicago, the judge’s opinion painted an image of Chicago far different from the portrayal of federal attorneys, who characterized it as a place “ransacked by rioters.” Instead, Ellis proudly described neighbors showing up for one another by “standing on the sidewalk to document law enforcement activities and protest against immigration enforcement activities they believe to be unjust, or simply praying the Rosary to provide comfort and bear witness to those detained at the Broadview detention facility who are facing fear and uncertainty.”

“This description of rapid response network members, neighborhood moms and dads, Chicago Bears fans, people dressed in Halloween costumes, and the lawyer who lives on the block as professional agitators undermines the agents’ credibility,” she wrote.