This is part of our series of daily recaps of ICE activity in the Chicago region. Have a tip we should check out? Email newsroom@blockclubchi.org.
BROADVIEW — Federal agents led by border patrol Chief Greg Bovino attacked protesters Friday morning outside the suburban Broadview ICE facility.
At one point, a Block Club reporter saw an agent put his hands on the neck of a priest while pushing him.
The Rev. Michael Woolf, of Lake Street Church in Evanston, was protesting outside the facility when an agent attacked him while pushing protesters, he said.
“Around 50 to 100 of them basically marched down for a photo op,” Woolf said. “And all of a sudden, now we need to clear out. And then they just started using their gloves and pushing.
“One person grabbed my nipple and twisted, and then they put their hands on my throat. They were not gentle. … I’m completely peaceable. I’m a pastor. I’m committed to nonviolence.”
The violence is the latest assault on people who have been protesting the Trump Administration’s operations Midway Blitz and At Large, which have targeted people in and around Chicago.
Protesters have been gathering outside the facility for weeks, hoping to pressure the government into ending the operations and to stop cars that go into and out of the ICE facility at 1930 Beach St. in Broadview.
Federal agents have repeatedly tear gassed and shot pepper bells and rubber bullets at the protesters — even as Broadview officials have demanded they stop and said the agents are harming local police officers, firefighters, paramedics and neighbors.
On Thursday night, Illinois State Police announced the agency would send first responders to Friday morning’s protest to keep people out of the street near the facility to “support the safety of the public,” according to a news release.
Officers put that into effect early Friday, trying to keep protesters off the street. Demonstrators accused officers of assisting ICE; about 8:45 a.m., when some protesters tried to block federal vehicles’ entrance into the facility, officers hit them with batons and pushed them to the ground. State and local police took several protesters into custody.
“It’s a f—king outrageous escalation by the state of Illinois,” said protester Michael Boyte after a peaceful but tense exchange with an officer. “What [the state] should be doing is getting in the way of these kidnappings. Instead, the state of Illinois has sent the Illinois State Police. This is supposed to be a sanctuary state. JB Pritzker goes on TV every other day talking about how evil Trump is, but the State Police are collaborating with ICE.”
Shortly afterward, at 9 a.m., Bovino came outside of the facility with a group of federal agents. He yelled at protesters that this would be their one warning — and then he and the agents walked toward protesters, who were not in the street.
Protesters yelled at Bovino and the agents, telling them to quit their jobs. The agents grabbed several protesters and pushed some to the ground. They detained at least two people.
During the incident, drones circled overhead, people with the federal agents recorded video and a right-wing social media influencer could be seen nearby. Bovino and Border Patrol have been staging photo ops in the city to produce social media videos.
It was not clear why Border Patrol would be involved with responding to protesters.
Agents had not used tear gas, rubber bullets or pepper balls on protesters as of about 9:45 a.m., but they were seen putting on gas masks.
At least five people were arrested and charged for incidents stemming from the protest, according to a Cook County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The Trump administration said Operations Midway Blitz and At Large are focused on arresting and removing undocumented immigrants with serious criminal histories — but federal agents have repeatedly detained U.S. citizens, including children, and immigrants with proper status.
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