CHICAGO (WLS) — A federal judge has ordered the Chicago ICE field director to appear in court next week concerning several alleged incidents involving federal agents.
On Thursday, federal Judge Sara Ellis, who issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) last week restricting federal agents’ use of tear gas and other crowd control methods, expressed being “deeply concerned” about apparent violations of that order.
Judge Ellis has ordered Chicago ICE Field Office Director Russell Hott to appear in court on Monday to answer questions regarding multiple incidents where the TRO may have been breached.
The judge also modified the TRO to require all agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz—including those from ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—to wear body cameras during all “law enforcement activities” in Chicago. Agents who have already been issued body cameras must keep them turned on at all times.
According to Judge Ellis, the body cameras will help verify whether agents provide the court-ordered two warnings before deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, or other crowd control methods in the Chicago area.
At the Dirksen courthouse, Judge Ellis explained she called the court hearing after reviewing footage of a protest on the Southeast Side last Tuesday, which escalated from a chase to the use of tear gas.
Attorney Sean Skedzieiewski, representing the Department of Homeland Security, stated that the judge does not yet have all the facts concerning these incidents and indicated that news reports about an incident in Albany Park are inaccurate. He also noted he had no information regarding the Southeast Side protest.
This is a developing story.
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**See Also:**
– Pritzker says federal agents could have violated order against use of tear gas in East Side clash
– Agents tackle U.S. citizen after East Side operation leads to crash, spills into Walgreens [VIDEO]
Stay tuned for updates.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/federal-judge-sara-ellis-orders-ice-field-director-russell-hott-testify-agents-wear-body-cams-chicago-area/18018940/