{"id":2021,"date":"2025-10-16T22:12:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T22:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2021"},"modified":"2025-10-16T22:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T22:12:08","slug":"federal-judge-demands-answers-from-trump-admin-on-following-order-to-avoid-violent-encounters-with-chicago-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2021","title":{"rendered":"Federal judge demands answers from Trump admin on following order to avoid violent encounters with Chicago protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sign outside the door said Courtroom 1403. But inside, it felt a lot more like the principal\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not happy,\u201d US District Judge Sara Ellis said Thursday in a stern tone no student \u2013 or attorney \u2013 wants to hear. \u201cI\u2019m really not happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

One week after the judge issued a\u00a0sweeping order\u00a0trying to calm the intense response of federal agents to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Border Patrol activities in Chicago, Ellis told both sides to come back to her courtroom to have their own intense discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in Chicago, if folks haven\u2019t noticed, and I\u2019m not blind, right?\u201d Ellis opened the hearing. \u201cSo, I don\u2019t live in a cave. I have a phone. I have a TV. I have a computer and I tend to get news.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge said those news reports were leading her to believe the Trump administration may not be following her instructions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least from what I\u2019m seeing, I\u2019m having serious concerns that my order\u2019s being followed,\u201d said Ellis from the bench.<\/p>\n

In response, Ellis announced Thursday she will expand her restraining order, requiring all federal agents who are part of Operation Midway Blitz and who have body cameras to have them on during encounters with protesters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the nice thing about body cameras is that they pick up events before the triggering event happens,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The judge initially required all agents to wear cameras, but agreed to some flexibility after Sean Skedzielewski, an attorney representing the Trump administration, said it would be logistically impossible to immediately equip all agents with bodycams.<\/p>\n

The Department of Justice still opposed the body cam order, arguing it\u2019s not a simple matter to record the body cam videos and consistently turn them around for reviewing and redacting video based on every allegation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would require a tremendous amount of resources,\u201d Skedzielewski said.<\/p>\n

Order limited use of riot control weapons and tactics<\/h3>\n

Ellis \u2013\u00a0an Obama appointee\u00a0\u2013 issued a temporary restraining order last week after a coalition of local journalists and protesters sued the Trump administration, saying federal law enforcement agents were targeting people engaging in peaceful activity, including multiple reporters who said they had pepper balls fired on them despite being identified as press.<\/p>\n

Since then, the plaintiffs said they believe agents violated the order, including a\u00a0confrontation\u00a0on Chicago\u2019s southeast side Tuesday after a traffic accident involving US Border Patrol, which ended with agents using tear gas against an angry crowd.<\/p>\n

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A law enforcement officer points a crowd control weapon at a protester in Chicago on Tuesday. – Anthony Vazquez\/Chicago Sun-Times via AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason the Chicago Police Department has policies about car chases and where they occur, and where they need to stop,\u201d said the judge, suggesting the tense situation resulted from Border Patrol agents using tactics not appropriate in the nation\u2019s third-largest city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not on the border. We are in an urban, densely populated area where crowds are going to converge when there\u2019s a commotion, where appropriate crowd control is important,\u201d she said. \u201cTrying to apprehend and detain people is very, very different when you\u2019re in an urban setting than when you\u2019re out on the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellis demanded that ICE Field Director Russell Hott appear in court on Monday at 10:30 a.m. local time, \u201cto explain to me why I am seeing images of tear gas being deployed and reading reports that there were no warnings given before it was deployed out in the field.\u201d It is unclear if Hott will appear in person or via a video link.<\/p>\n

The original restraining order from Ellis blocks agents from targeting journalists who are not interfering with law enforcement. Federal agents are also prohibited from using tear gas and less-lethal munitions on anyone who does not impose an \u201cimmediate threat to safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue is that DHS is using force in a manner that violates the constitutional rights of peaceful protesters, journalists and, essentially, clergy members,\u201d said the judge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t shoot \u2018em in the head (with pepper balls),\u201d Ellis said, addressing a list of things federal agents have been accused of doing in encounters with demonstrators. \u201cYou can\u2019t deploy tear gas. You can\u2019t use flash-bang grenades. You can\u2019t drive a car through a crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video of a pastor being\u00a0repeatedly shot\u00a0by pepper balls during a demonstration outside at an ICE facility near Chicago earlier this month drew widespread outcry.<\/p>\n

Immigration agents nationally have expressed reluctance about body cameras<\/h3>\n

Attorneys on both sides of the Chicago case are waiting for details on how the body camera order will work there. The topic has at times led to friction between immigration agents and FBI agents assigned to assist with enforcement efforts across the country, two law enforcement sources familiar with the situation told CNN.<\/p>\n

While FBI agents have worn body cameras during joint arrest operations per their agency\u2019s policy, some immigration agents not wearing body cameras expressed concern to their FBI counterparts about having their tactics recorded, sources said. During one heated exchange, immigration agents who did not want to be captured on body camera footage refused to invite FBI agents along for an arrest operation, one of the sources said.<\/p>\n

As CNN has reported, law enforcement sources said the increasingly aggressive tactics they\u2019ve observed by immigration agents have, at times, led to other confrontations in recent months between the Department of Homeland Security and agents from other federal agencies working on joint task forces.<\/p>\n

In at least two FBI field office divisions, sources who were not authorized to speak publicly said agents assigned to work on immigration matters raised concerns with their management over what they believed to be questionable tactics by DHS, such as entering private property without permission and racial profiling.<\/p>\n

Government says judge is seeing \u201cselectively edited\u201d reports<\/h3>\n

Skedzielewski suggested the news coverage that prompted the judge\u2019s anger may be misleading, saying Ellis is relying on \u201cone-sided and selectively edited media reports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellis acknowledged some details in news reports may be under dispute, adding that is why she wants to speak to the field director on Monday.<\/p>\n

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A federal immigration enforcement agent sprays Rev. David Black during a demonstration outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois on September 19. – Ashlee Rezin\/Chicago Sun-Times\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker \u2013 who is not a party to the lawsuit \u2013 said Thursday he was pleased by the judge\u2019s decision to expand her order and that agents should be wearing body cameras \u201cbecause they clearly lie about what goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re going to see more cases brought against ICE and (Customs and Border Protection),\u201d Pritzer added.<\/p>\n

Asked recently about tactics used by immigration agents, DHS said\u00a0in a statement\u00a0to CNN that federal agents are facing \u201csmearing\u201d by claims the agency is using \u201charsher approaches\u201d and said they \u201cput their lives on the line every day to enforce the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a separate case, a federal judge\u00a0blocked\u00a0President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Chicago last week. The administration is appealing the order.<\/p>\n

This story has been updated with additional information.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story was written by Andy Rose in Atlanta with reporting from Bill Kirkos in Chicago and Josh Campbell in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at\u00a0CNN.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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