A Presbyterian minister struck by ICE projectiles whereas protesting outdoors a Chicago-area immigrant facility has joined a lawsuit accusing the federal authorities of “brutally” suppressing free speech.
Rev. David Black, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, is among the many plaintiffs in a 52-page swimsuit the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed Monday in U.S. District Courtroom for the Northern District of Illinois Jap Division. Fellow plaintiffs embody journalism organizations and retailers, particular person journalists, clergy members, and protesters who discovered themselves on the enterprise finish of ICE rubber bullets or tear fuel canisters in what they charged have been unprovoked assaults.
On Wednesday, video of the Sept. 19 alleged assault on Black taken by a fellow demonstrator went viral. It confirmed the pastor in clerical garb, standing earlier than the chain-link fence outdoors Broadview together with his arms outstretched, wanting skyward to a few males in fatigues stationed on the roof. He started praying for the masked brokers, inviting them to wish for themselves, he mentioned.
The brokers answered by showering him with chemical bullets, knocking him to his knees, he mentioned.
“Without any warning, and without any order or request that I and others disperse, I was suddenly fired upon by ICE officers,” Black mentioned within the ACLU’s assertion. “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.”
Whereas a protester doused his eyes with water, “We could hear them laughing,” Black advised RNS.
The ACLU is in search of an emergency restraining order to “stop the government’s illegal and brutal suppression” of First Modification rights, the group mentioned. The Broadview facility has been the location of peaceable protests for many years, the ACLU mentioned, and this summer season has been no exception because the Trump administration despatched in closely armed, camo-clad brokers toting weaponry in its operation the White Home dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”
“The Trump Administration has sent federal officials and agents to brutally suppress free speech at the site through intentional and escalating violence, including the dangerous and indiscriminate use of near-lethal weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper-balls, flash grenades, and other unwarranted and disproportionate tactics,” the ACLU mentioned in an announcement.
“Never in modern times has the federal government undermined bedrock constitutional protections on this scale, or usurped states’ police power by directing federal agents to carry out an illegal mission against the people for the government’s own benefit,” the ACLU grievance said.
On Wednesday, Texas Nationwide Guard troops arrived in Chicago.
