The CBP chief had originally claimed that Bovino deployed tear gas canisters after he was hit in the head by a rock, but in his hourslong deposition, Bovino “admitted that he lied about whether a rock hit him before he deployed tear gas in Little Village,” Ellis said, according to Jon Seidal of the Chicago Sun Times.
Ellis said she’d reviewed video evidence that “disproved” his prior claim, as well as seen a mountain of evidence that federal agents in Chicago had used force against protesters, in violation of protesters’ First Amendment rights and contrary to the government’s claims. “I find the defendant’s evidence simply not credible,” Ellis said.
“Agents pushed, shoved, tackled protesters, pointed guns at them, threw tear gas and deployed smoke canisters. Everyone that agents detained [was] released by the FBI, and none of them are currently charged with assault,” she said, according to Seidal.
