- “Federal agents have been deployed not to enforce the law, but to punish dissent and intimidate those who oppose them.” – Lawsuit
By Vanguard Staff
CHICAGO — Attorneys representing journalists, clergy, and private citizens have filed an emergency motion in federal court accusing the Trump Administration of unleashing federal agents in a “brutal and unlawful campaign” to suppress peaceful protests and silence the press outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center in Broadview, Illinois.
The 52-page lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeks an emergency order halting what it calls “a coordinated and escalating campaign of violence” directed by President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and other top officials. The plaintiffs — a coalition of media organizations, religious leaders, and private citizens — allege that federal forces have used tear gas, rubber bullets, flash grenades, and chemical agents against people engaged in constitutionally protected activity, including prayer, reporting, and peaceful protest.
“Never in modern times has the federal government undermined bedrock constitutional protections on this scale,” the complaint states. “Federal agents have been deployed not to enforce the law, but to punish dissent and intimidate those who oppose them.”
The filing marks one of the most significant First Amendment cases since the Trump Administration began its renewed use of federal forces under what it has called “Operation Midway Blitz.” The operation, announced in early September, was framed as a crackdown on crime and immigration enforcement but has since expanded into what civil rights advocates say is a sweeping campaign of political retaliation against those who oppose the administration.
The plaintiffs include Block Club Chicago, the Chicago Headline Club, the Illinois Press Association, the Chicago Newspaper Guild, and NABET-CWA Local 54041, as well as individual journalists, clergy, and protesters. They are represented by attorneys from Loevy + Loevy, the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago, First Defense Legal Aid, Protect Democracy, and the ACLU of Illinois.
The complaint details weeks of violent clashes between federal agents and peaceful demonstrators gathered outside the Broadview ICE facility, a site with a long history of prayer vigils and immigration protests. Protesters say that since the launch of Operation Midway Blitz, agents from ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other federal agencies have repeatedly stormed crowds without warning, using chemical weapons and “less-lethal” projectiles at close range.
For decades, clergy and community members have gathered weekly at the Broadview site to pray for detainees and families affected by deportation. But according to the lawsuit, that tradition has been met with extreme force under the Trump Administration.
Pastor David Black, Senior Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, recounted how federal agents opened fire on him as he stood in prayer outside the facility.
“I extended my arms, palms outstretched toward the ICE officers, in a traditional Christian posture of prayer and blessing,” Black said. “Without any warning, and without any order or request that I and others disperse, I was suddenly fired upon by ICE officers. In rapid fire, I was hit seven times on my arms, face and torso with exploding pellets that contained some kind of chemical agent. It was clear to me that the officers were aiming for my head, which they struck twice.”
The lawsuit argues that the Trump Administration’s actions represent “a flagrant assault on the First Amendment,” targeting speech, religion, and the free press.
“This is not law enforcement,” it states. “This is the use of federal power to terrorize communities and silence opposition.”
Stephanie Lulay, Executive Editor and Co-Founder of Block Club Chicago, said her reporters have been attacked repeatedly while covering the protests. “During that time, at least four of our employees or freelancers have told me that they were hit with pepper balls and subjected to tear gas by federal agents at Broadview,” Lulay said. “We intend to continue to report on the protests, but our ability to do so, to the standards that we hold ourselves to, continues to be impacted by our fears of violence and arrests of our employees and contractors.”
The lawsuit names as defendants President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Acting ICE Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles, Chicago ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott, CBP Commissioner Gregory Bovino, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, among others. It claims these officials “have directed, authorized, and condoned” the use of excessive force, intimidation, and mass detentions against journalists, clergy, and protesters.
Individual plaintiffs include journalists who were allegedly shot at, gassed, or arrested while reporting. Raven Geary, a co-founder of Unraveled Press, said she was shot directly in the face with a pepper ball while photographing officers from about 30 feet away. Another journalist, Charles Thrush, a student reporter for Block Club Chicago, said he was struck in the hand by a projectile while filming the protests. “I was clearly identified as press,” he said. “They knew who we were, and they shot anyway.”
Protesters have reported similar treatment. William Paulson, a 67-year-old retired union painter, described being overcome by tear gas during a September demonstration. “Gas canisters had been shot in front of and behind me,” he recalled. “I started to inhale the gas, and I couldn’t see or breathe. Around me, I could hear people being tackled to the ground. Then flash bang grenades started to go off near me. I was disoriented… My eyes and nose were burning. My skin was burning. I have emphysema and COPD, so the gas affected me very strongly.”
Another protester, Autumn Reidy-Hamer of Oak Park, said she was hit by a flash-bang grenade that caused temporary hearing loss. “I wanted to gather with neighbors and elected officials to speak out peacefully,” she said. “Instead, they threw tear gas and grenades at us.”
The complaint alleges that federal agents’ actions were not defensive but punitive — “an effort to silence the government’s critics through fear and violence.” It also argues that the administration’s rhetoric has made clear that these tactics are politically motivated. Trump has described Chicago as a “war zone” and a “killing field,” calling his crackdown a “war from within.” Secretary Noem, the lawsuit alleges, told agents stationed at Broadview to “go hard” on protesters, saying, “We’re gonna hammer these guys” and “make sure there’s consequences for the way they’re behaving.”
The plaintiffs are seeking a temporary restraining order to immediately halt the use of force against demonstrators and journalists, as well as a permanent injunction protecting their right to protest, report, and pray without retaliation.
A similar motion was granted in Los Angeles last month, after federal agents used the same tactics against protesters there. In that case, a federal judge concluded that the agents’ actions would “undoubtedly chill the media’s efforts to cover these public events and protesters seeking to express peacefully their views on national policies.”
The Illinois complaint echoes that concern, warning that without court intervention, the government’s “indiscriminate use of force” will continue to endanger lives and erode democracy. “The First Amendment demands better,” the Los Angeles court wrote — a sentiment the Illinois plaintiffs are now invoking in their own plea for relief.
The case represents a growing legal backlash against the Trump Administration’s nationwide deployment of federal agents to cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, and Memphis. Civil rights groups warn that the operations — often launched without state or local consent — mark a dangerous expansion of executive power and a direct threat to civil liberties.
In Chicago, the plaintiffs say they will not be intimidated. “We intend to continue reporting and bearing witness,” said Lulay. “But it is a chilling thing when journalists have to fear for their safety for doing their jobs.”
Pastor Black said he remains undeterred as well. “My faith requires me to return,” he said. “I will continue to pray for those officers — even as I fear what they may do next.”
