Lawsuit claims DHS agents used force on Chicago protesters despite court order

A coalition of journalists and civil rights groups has accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her department of violating a federal court order that limits the use of force by federal agents during demonstrations in Chicago last week, according to a new court filing.

The Chicago Headline Club and other plaintiffs submitted a notice to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging that DHS Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino and other federal officers used tear gas and other crowd-control weapons against peaceful demonstrators in the city’s Little Village neighborhood on Thursday.

The filing claims Chief Bovino personally threw tear gas canisters into a nonviolent crowd without warning, in violation of a temporary restraining order issued earlier this month. According to sworn declarations included in the filing, video footage shows agents using chemical munitions, shoving civilians, and pointing firearms at protesters who posed no threat.

The plaintiffs also allege that an officer shot a demonstrator in the neck with a pepper ball at close range and that another officer pointed a gun at a bystander while shouting, “You’re dead liberal.” The notice further cites comments made by Bovino in media interviews, in which he appeared to dismiss the court’s authority and claim he was following “orders from the executive branch.”

The Department of Homeland Security disputed the claims in a post on Tuesday, saying video evidence shows agents were surrounded by 75 to 100 “rioters” who fired commercial-grade fireworks, threw rocks, and attacked a Border Patrol vehicle.

DHS said agents issued multiple warnings before deploying tear gas and other crowd-control measures, which it described as “necessary to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the public.”

The incident in Little Village occurred amid “Operation Midway Blitz,” a DHS immigration enforcement campaign launched in September that deployed about 300 federal agents to Chicago.