Three Evanston residents who witnessed a violent altercation between federal immigration agents and local residents in Evanston on Halloween are adding their first-person observations to a lawsuit being brought by the Chicago Headline Club against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In a court filing posted on Nov. 3, lawyers representing Chicago area journalists suing the federal government said U.S. Border Patrol agents violated U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis’s temporary restraining order requiring federal law enforcement officers to de-escalate tense situations during immigration raids and to refrain from using chemical agents to control large crowds.
The filing states that U.S. Department of Homeland Security used excessive force against multiple protestors, deployed pepper spray without warning, threatened to use excessive force and that some agents did not wear official numbers and and badges, as mandated by the judge’s temporary restraining order.
Ellis had previously called Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino into court to address accusations of excessive force involving tear gas in Chicago neighborhoods.
The three Evanston witnesses —Kerry Littel, David Brooks and Kelly Mack — provided video and photos of Border Patrol agents’ actions in Evanston near Chute Middle School on Oct. 31, as well as witness statements, to the complaint.
A young man who had been protesting was pulled forward by agents, wrestled and pinned to the ground, according to the filing. The agent put his knee on the young man’s back until he agreed to stop moving, and agents can be seen in a video smashing the young man’s face to the pavement.
Littel said the “young man looked dazed” and appeared to be “in need of medical attention.”
Pioneer Press attempted to contact the young man who was beaten, but a family member of another witness said that young man is not making himself available to news media.
An X post from Homeland Security said that the young man was a “violent rioter” that assaulted the agent.
“One physically assaulted a Border Patrol agent and kicked an agent,” the post said. “As he was being arrested, he grabbed the agents genitals (sic) and squeezed them. As you know this is an extremely painful experience for most human beings and justifies certain responses, the agent delivered several defensive strikes to the agitator to free his genitals from the agitator’s vise.”
From the video’s angle, it wasn’t clear whether the arrested man was squeezing the agent’s genitals.
DHS declined to further comment on the matter to Pioneer Press, directing questions to the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ did not respond to a request for questions.
Over the Nov. 1-2 weekend, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield that the city’s police department is investigating the Oct. 31 incident, calling DHS agents “a bunch of liars.”
The police department is investigating the incident on two fronts, Biss said; one to investigate the violence and another to investigate the traffic accident.
“If I, or you, drive around my town and deliberately drive recklessly so as to cause a traffic accident, that requires a police response as well,” Biss said.
Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew told Pioneer Press, “Due to a pending investigation, the city has no comment at this time.”
“They (the immigration agents) didn’t like being followed, they don’t like being watched because they don’t want the world to know what they’re doing,” Biss said. “They forced this car accident and then they started literally beating up innocent bystanders. It’s an outrage and it’s something we’ve gotta stand up against.”
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Biss said that the citizens arrested were released on the same day, “because after all, they didn’t do anything wrong.”