Federal Judge Sides With Journalists, Protesters in Chicago Over Violent Tactics of Trump’s Federal Agents

“Individuals are allowed to protest,” the judge said. “They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.”

By Brad Reed, Common Dreams

A federal judge has placed new restrictions on the use of force that federal agents can use on protesters and journalists in Chicago.

In a Thursday ruling, US District Judge Sara Ellis barred Department of Homeland Security officials from using riot control weapons “on members of the press, protestors, or religious practitioners who are not posing an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer or others.”

Ellis’ decision came in response to a complaint filed by independent media publication Block Club Chicago, along with other news organizations.

In its report on the ruling, Block Club Chicago explained that four of its reporters “were indiscriminately hit with pepper-spray bullets and tear-gassed by federal agents” while they were covering protests outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, Illinois.

The publication also quoted Ellis saying in court on Thursday that some of the actions carried out by federal agents against journalists and protesters “clearly violate the constitution.”

“Individuals are allowed to protest,” she emphasized. “They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.”

The temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by Ellis will be in effect for the next 14 days, and she could extend its length significantly by granting a preliminary injunction later in the month.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a consistent critic of federal officials’ conduct in his city, hailed the ruling but lamented that it was even necessary in the first place.

“It’s a sad state in America when reporters have to go to court to not get shot at by the federal government,” he said, in a video posted on X by local talk radio station WCPT 820. “That we have to go to court so that teachers can run their classrooms and that students can get inside safely and that we can protect them from chemical agents. We have to go to court to protect the people of our city from chemical agents.”

Federal immigration officials have been employing increasingly aggressive and violent tactics in the Chicago area in recent weeks, including attacking a journalist and a protesting priest with pepper balls outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility; slamming a congressional candidate to the ground; dragging US citizens, including children, out of their homes during a raid in the middle of the night; and fatally shooting a man during a traffic stop.