Chicago Tells Of Escalating State Violence, Including A Killing, As It Challenges National Guard Occupation
Chicago’s new lawsuit against the National Guard’s impending deployment paints a city under siege by a disproportionate federal force, its residents angered by the killing of an undocumented resident, the pain gleefully and needlessly inflicted by the forces of federal law and the looming specter of further occupation.
Following Los Angeles, Washington DC and Portland, the city and state took issue with President Trump’s deployment of the Guard to quell what the administration describes as fantastical war-like unrest. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the mobilization of the Illinois and Texas Guard to Chicago and Portland on Sunday. The move prompted an emergency hearing in the Portland case, where a federal judge grilled Justice Department lawyers for “circumventing” his order blocking the deployment of the Oregon Guard.
The Chicago lawsuit, filed Monday, recounts the escalation of state violence intended to provoke a response, the better to justify sending in the military.
“Among other things, Trump and Noem sent a wave of SWAT-Tactic trained federal agents to Illinois to use unprecedented brute force tactics for civil immigration enforcement; federal agents repeatedly fired chemical munitions into groups that included media and legal observers outside the Broadview plant; and dozens of masked and armed forces. “The community’s horror at these tactics and their far-reaching consequences have resulted in entirely predictable protests.”
It details Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during a visit to the only ice facility near Chicago, choosing to enter and exit through paths clogged with protesters, the better to spark a confrontation with law enforcement. It includes photos of heavily armed officers cruising the Chicago River, supposedly securing upscale sections of the city’s downtown. It recounts the killing of longtime resident and father Silverio Villegas González by DHS officers, who initially claimed they acted in self-defense (an account quickly debunked).
Similarly in Portland, modest protests at the ice processing center outside Chicago were used as the primary pretext for military repression.
“According to the sworn statement of the Broadview police chief who witnessed this conduct daily, the ‘use of chemical agents by federal agents at the ICE facility in Broadview has often been arbitrary and indiscriminate. At times it is used when the crowd is as small as ten people,’” the lawsuit said, adding from the police chief’s account: “Over the course of my career in law enforcement, the way in which federal agents have indiscriminately used chemical agents in Broadview is unlike anything I have seen before.”
The judge in the case reportedly scheduled a hearing for Thursday.
Attack the judges
Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller unleashed a tirade at Judge Karin Immergut, an anti-Trump appointee, early Monday morning, calling his second order, blocking the deployment of other states’ National Guard to Portland, “one of the most egregious and egregious violations of the constitutional order we have ever seen” and “the latest example of the tireless efforts to overturn the 2024 election of 2024.”
Trump had weighed in against Immergut earlier in the day, complaining that he was not well served “by the people who choose judges” and that “he” (Immergut is a woman) “should be ashamed of himself” (again, a woman).
“We have long reached the point where Trump must openly defy these judges,” tweeted right-wing commentator Matt Walsh. “A random federal judge has no authority to decide how and if troops are deployed. She is not the commander in chief. Ignore her and deploy them. It’s time for a showdown with these activist judges.”
Opening day for judges
Monday marks the official start of the Supreme Court’s new term – a date that has become primarily ceremonial, given the increasing workload carried on the emergency docket during all months of the year.
Tuesday features the first big culture war fight of the season, as the court will hear arguments against Colorado’s conversion therapy ban. On Wednesday, he will hear a case related to Illinois’ acceptance of mail-in ballots by Election Day but was later received.
In case you missed it
Late last night: High judge aside, emergency ruling protecting Portland from National Guard occupation
TPM Cafe: the Trump administration’s new protection racket for higher ED
Morning Memo: Major New Constitutional Clash Erupts in Oregon
Today’s big story: Trump admin goes mostly unnoticed in suppressing opposition
Most read story of yesterday
DHS Includes White Supremacist Meme in Video Promoting Blitz Deportation
What we read
How to save the American experiment – New York Times
Libraries can’t get their loaned books back because of Trump’s tariffs – 404 media
The Left Has Its Rabbit Holes – New York Times
