A WGN creative services department worker was briefly taken into custody by two Border Patrol officers and subsequently released after federal agents converged on a bustling intersection in Chicago’s North Side, amid the morning rush hour. The incident occurred in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on Friday.
WGN is not naming the employee, as station policy requires blurring faces and not identifying those who have not been charged with a crime.
Witnesses on site who captured the incident on video spoke to WGN about the moments leading up to the staffer’s detainment.
“I heard shouting, screaming, and the sound of honking. Curious about the commotion, I rushed downstairs,” recounted Josh Thomas, who resides in a condo above the Lincoln and Foster scene. “It seemed like Border Patrol agents in a minivan had tackled a woman. I went to her aid and learned she was a WGN employee.”
Thomas mentioned that by the time he arrived at the scene, around 8:30 a.m., he noticed another individual already detained in the van by ICE agents.
“I couldn’t get his name, though I did ask,” Thomas noted. “He struggled with English. They accused the WGN employee of obstructing justice, but like the rest of us, she was merely recording the incident.”
Giordana Mahn told WGN-TV that she was in a cab on her way to the airport when she, too, captured the scene.
“She was heading east while we were going west. I began filming when they tackled her, dragging her into the street,” Mahn explained. “I asked her name amid the chaos.”
According to a Department of Homeland Security statement, the WGN employee, who holds U.S. citizenship, allegedly threw items at a Border Patrol vehicle. Consequently, she was arrested for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.
In an area with condos, apartments, and concerned neighbors, Thomas called Friday’s scene heartbreaking.
“It’s terrifying for the community. When I came back upstairs to my condo, my son was crying and asked me what was happening and if people were going to come take him,” Thomas said.
Mahn shared his sentiments, lamenting her fear for the community.
“I’m scared for my community. I’m scared for anyone who is Black or brown. You’ll see in the video, the WGN [employee] wasn’t Black or brown…they are terrorizing anyone. Everyone in Chicago.”
WGN-TV is still in the process of searching for and obtaining video showing the moment leading up to the employee’s detainment. WGN-TV also learned that the Border Patrol released the employee from federal custody as of 3 p.m. Friday.
