Federal agents apprehended over a dozen individuals on Friday amid demonstrations at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, which is near Chicago, Fox News reported from the location.
Five people were arrested by local law enforcement, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said.
Around 8 a.m. ET, roughly 250 protesters opposing ICE assembled outside the facility, with Illinois State Police and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office erecting barricades to create designated protest areas, as noted by Fox News at the site.
Fox News observed agents firing pepper balls, tear gas and rubber bullets to clear crowds blocking federal operations.
Just hours later, tensions appeared to have died down significantly and police were no longer wearing gas masks.
The Justice Department announced on September 29 that five people were charged in federal court concerning the assault or resistance against federal agents in Broadview. According to the DOJ, the allegations state that the defendants engaged in criminal physical contact with federal agents, with two of them supposedly carrying loaded firearms during the altercation.
One of the suspects, identified as Paul Ivery, is accused of telling agents, “I’ll [expletive] kill you right now.”
The suspects were identified as Dana Briggs, Hubert Mazur, Ray Collins, and Jocelyne Robledo, with Collins and Robledo specifically accused of possessing loaded weapons.
“During our collaboration with federal partners to secure the ICE facility in Broadview, ATF and Border Patrol agents faced assaults from violent and armed protesters, resulting in injuries to an ATF agent,” remarked Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
“We at ATF take all attacks on law enforcement very seriously and will keep working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure that those behind these actions are fully held to account,” Amon further stated.
Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson criticized the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Broadview during a press conference on Tuesday. (FOX32 Chicago WFLD)
Last week, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson sent a letter to ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott in which she accused the agency of “making war” on her community and “endangering nearby village residents” with its response to the protests, WTTW reported.
In response, ICE accused Thompson of “distorting reality” and “pointing her finger in the wrong direction, while our officers are protecting her community — and others — from real threats, while also facing skyrocketing violence against them, including at the Broadview facility.”
