U.S. District Judge Sarah L. Ellis heard from Border Patrol agents and Chicago residents affected by the president’s Midway blitz as she considered whether to extend restrictions on federal agents.
Illinois representative stopped by Border Patrol in Chicago
On Tuesday, October 21, Illinois Congressman Juan Huynh and a member of his staff were driving in Chicago when a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent stopped him.
CHICAGO – President Donald Trump’s top executive in command of the Midway raid said in a video court deposition that he believes the president’s “use of force was more than exemplary” despite complaints from citizens alleging tear gas, illegal arrests and assault.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief Patrol Agent Greg Bovino’s sworn testimony, heard in U.S. District Court in Chicago on November 5, came in response to a lawsuit over the tactics of federal agents. A group of clerics, journalists, and protesters filed the lawsuit, claiming the agents’ tactics were scaring people from exercising their rights to freedom of religion and speech.
Among the witnesses who testified Wednesday was a local pastor who was shot in the head with a pepper ball. A suburban elected official whose arrest by Bovino was caught on camera. Two women document immigration raids and are later stopped at gunpoint by officers.
“They pointed the gun at me. I could see inside the barrel,” said Leslie Cortez, one of the two women. She was contacted by investigators after recording herself arresting a day laborer. “My heart quickened and I froze up, worried I was going to be shot.”
Defendants in the lawsuit include Mr. Bovino of the Department of Homeland Security. Kristi Noem, Trump and top officials at the Department of Homeland Security. Defense attorneys called Border Patrol Supervisor Christopher Hewson as a witness. Portions of the five-hour deposition Bovino was ordered to give were played in court, along with body-worn camera footage and other videos.
Mr. Bovino testified that agents were justified in taking action in Chicago and elsewhere.
“When someone refuses a lawful command from a law enforcement officer, that is, in my opinion, an indicative element,” Bovino said in a deposition. “Because not following directions is an indicator that someone is ready to break the law.”
The lawsuit was first filed in the Northern District of Illinois on October 6th. Chief Judge Sarah L. Ellis first issued a temporary restraining order in the case on October 9, forcing federal officials to issue warnings before using chemical weapons. Ellis amended his order on Oct. 16 to allow officers to use body-worn cameras as well.
Ellis is considering whether to extend the temporary restraining order. After about nine hours of court proceedings, Ellis told his lawyers to return to court on Nov. 6 for an oral judgment.
Since issuing the restraining order, federal agents have used the chemical in numerous cases, prompting complaints from Chicago residents. Complaints from citizens include that federal agents used tear gas on a North Side residential area on October 25, and that children were “tear gassed while celebrating Halloween.” The complaint prompted Ellis to issue a warning just before Halloween to keep an eye out for more complaints about people being harassed on Halloween.
Other complaints include video footage showing Mr. Bovino himself using tear gas on Oct. 23 and officers using tear gas on Oct. 22 in Chicago’s most famous Mexican neighborhood during an attack that a local alderman called a “reign of terror.”
“I’ll let you go this time.”
Jor El Munchak was the second woman to testify in court on Nov. 5 that federal agents recorded her arrest and then stopped her at gunpoint. The incident occurred on October 10, near her home on Chicago’s North Side.
Munchak said officers then pulled up in front of her car, surrounded her, pounded on her car, told her to open the door and pointed guns at her.
“It’s been tough,” Munchak, the privacy compliance manager, said of the weeks since the incident. “I was really shocked. I had never been held at gunpoint before.”
The Northside woman said when she refused to open her car, the officer told her, “This time we’ll let you go, but next time we’ll detain you.”
Since the incident, Munchak said he has stopped recording federal agents and has avoided protests. She recently underwent back surgery and said she worries what would have happened to her if investigators had pulled her from her car and restrained her, like other Americans in Chicago.
Man claims Bovino tackled him
Juan Muñoz, a trustee for the Oak Park suburb just west of Chicago, said in court that Bovino tackled him and arrested him while participating in a protest in front of an immigration processing center near Broadview.
“I turned around and it was Gregory Bovino,” Munoz said of the moment he felt someone tug on his shoulder. “He slapped the phone out of my hand and said, ‘You’re under arrest.'”
Muñoz, who has been filming the protests, said he had previously witnessed operatives using chemicals on demonstrators and was ready to document the action again.
Lawyers played a video clip of the moment in court. Bovino appeared to be arguing with a man who was standing near Muñoz, and the man said something that clearly angered the chief. Bovino stepped over the barrier separating the two sides and arrested the man and Munoz, forcing them both to the ground.
Munoz said he spent eight hours in an immigration detention facility before officials released him at a gas station about a mile away without explanation. He worried that his common Hispanic name would be mistaken for an illegal immigrant. He testified that he had been hesitant to participate in protests since the incident.
Lawyers seeking to remove Bovino from office played clips of the incident to Bovino. He denies tackling Munoz or the other man, Scott Blackburn.
“You climbed over the fence and tackled him,” the lawyer tells Bovino.
“No,” says the chief.
“What are you doing?” the lawyer asked off camera.
Mr Bovino said he had been “begging” Mr Blackburn to leave the area.
“That was not a reportable use of force. I arrested him. I didn’t tackle him, I arrested him,” Bovino said. “The use of force was against me.”
Border Patrol agent says tear gas ‘doesn’t harm people’
The defendant in this case called one witness to the stand. It was Border Patrol Supervisor Hewson, a veteran of the agency who had accompanied Bovino on a summer raid in the Los Angeles area.
Hewson said he joined in 2006 after the 9/11 attacks and the need to “defend this great country.”
The Border Patrol agent was called to testify about the use of force case, and his attorney played some of his body camera footage.
Hewson said he and other immigration officials were already following the provisions of Ellis’ order before Ellis issued the rule.
“As far as I know, your TRO has no effect on me,” Hewson said of the temporary restraining order.
In the video played, Mr Hewson can be seen chasing a woman as she tries to kick away a tear gas canister thrown at her. He grabbed the woman from behind, called her names, and told her she was under arrest.
Mr Hewson described the woman’s actions as “aggressive”. His characterization came after he testified that tear gas “doesn’t harm people.”
Another video shows Hewson grabbing what he calls a “shield with nails sticking out” from a protester.
“Anyone with such a shield is on the verge of being assaulted,” he said.
In court Mr Hewson was asked to provide evidence that the items had been fitted with nails and said investigators had thrown them away after the incident.
