The mayor of Evanston, Illinois, says he’s opening two investigations after federal agents had been filmed pinning down and repeatedly hanging a person within the head as they arrested him Friday.
Videos shared on social media confirmed federal agents pinning a person to the bottom and punching him within the head. In a press release, the Department of Homeland Security mentioned the agents had been conducting an immigration enforcement operation on the time. It mentioned agents had noticed a “red vehicle” that was “aggressively” tailing their automobile, and when the agents turned, the automotive crashed into Border Patrol. DHS mentioned a “hostile crowd” gathered round their automobile and started “verbally abusing them and spitting on them.”
But Mayor Daniel Biss disputed the company’s account of the incident in an interview with NCS, calling DHS “a bunch of liars.”
He instructed NCS’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday he’s opening two investigations into the incident: one into the “violence” federal agents used towards individuals he described as “innocent bystanders,” and one into the automobile collision. The Border Patrol agents “deliberately caused a car accident” by deliberately braking whereas being adopted by the purple automobile, he mentioned.
“They didn’t like being followed, because they don’t like being watched, because they don’t want the world to know what they’re doing,” mentioned the mayor of the Chicago suburb. “They forced this car accident, and then they started literally beating up innocent bystanders.”
NCS has requested DHS in regards to the mayor’s remarks.
The incident comes amid rising scrutiny of the aggressive tactics utilized by Border Patrol and ICE, together with towards US residents. Multiple individuals have been shot by federal agents throughout immigration enforcement operations, and multiple car crashes and alleged “rammings” involving federal agents have occurred as DHS units out to satisfy high arrest targets set by the Trump administration.
DHS mentioned three US residents had been arrested “as a result of their violence against law enforcement” in Evanston on Friday, however the company didn’t specify what the three had allegedly accomplished, and didn’t establish them or record any costs towards them.
In response to NCS’s questions in regards to the videos exhibiting the person being punched within the head, a DHS spokesperson despatched a press release saying a Border Patrol agent had “delivered several defensive strikes” to a person he was arresting. The assertion mentioned the person had kicked the agent and “grabbed the (agent’s) genitals and squeezed them” in the course of the arrest, however that account was not readily supported by the video.
Video exhibits one agent restraining the person, then dragging him round as one other agent helps pin him to the bottom. As one agent punches the person a number of instances, the person screams, “Help me, help me.” Agents seem to combat off a screaming crowd attempting to assist the person by pushing them away and threatening them with pepper spray.
“I can’t breathe,” the person says because the agent continues to kneel on him. The agents then drag him right into a automobile, his left shoe mendacity on the bottom.
Biss mentioned that after the person was arrested, federal agents “took him away and booked him and drove him around” however didn’t take him to obtain medical care. The man was “not in good shape” after the arrest, he mentioned. NCS has requested DHS whether or not it took the person to obtain medical care.
“This is lawlessness,” the mayor mentioned. “This is an outrage, and everyone’s got to stand up against it.”
By arresting three US residents, he mentioned, federal agents “weren’t even trying to enforce immigration. They were just trying to go after dissent.”
Following a brand new Evanston coverage, native police obtained the badge numbers of the federal agents concerned in Friday’s arrests, Biss mentioned. “Now we have the first step toward accountability, by being able to identify them,” he mentioned.
City officers are “thinking through options, including going to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, or potentially communicating with our state’s attorney to figure out the right way to demand justice for our residents who were assaulted,” he mentioned.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker had asked federal officers to pause immigration enforcement operation in and close to properties, faculties, parks and different areas the place households could be celebrating Halloween over the weekend.
Andrew Wymer, who took videos of the incident, described the agents’ actions as “absolutely deplorable.”
“These agents chose to terrorize our neighborhood on Halloween, a day that is supposed to be special and fun for families,” Wymer mentioned. “This is not normal. This is not OK, and our town will stand with our immigrant neighbors no matter what.”
Five individuals from Mexico had been arrested Friday in Evanston and the neighboring metropolis of Skokie, DHS instructed NCS. The company didn’t specify the explanation for every arrest however listed trespassing and coming into the United States with out authorization, a civil immigration offense.
Local and state officers criticized the immigration operation within the space Friday.
“I’m disgusted and outraged by reports of ICE terrorizing students, families, and community members today in Evanston, Skokie, and across the 9th District,” US Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat, said on X. “My team and I are monitoring the situation and coordinating with local partners to protect our neighbors. We won’t tolerate this inhumanity and will defend the dignity of every person in our community.”
Speaking to NCS on Friday, Biss had a transparent message for federal officers: “To Gregory Bovino, Kristi Noem, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection: Get the hell out of our city.”