Overview
- The Justice Department asked the 7th Circuit for an emergency stay of Judge Sara Ellis’s preliminary injunction, calling the order overbroad, unworkable and a violation of separation of powers.
- Ellis’s injunction, issued last week, requires body cameras and conspicuous identification, restricts chokeholds and neck restraints, and bars use of riot-control weapons without two warnings except to stop immediate threats, including protections for journalists and observers.
- In granting the injunction, Ellis said government evidence was not credible and cited Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino for false testimony, including admitting he lied about being struck by a rock before deploying tear gas in Little Village.
- Plaintiffs — protesters and media organizations including Block Club Chicago, the Chicago Headline Club and the Chicago Newspaper Guild — urged the appeals court to deny a stay, arguing the government has shown no emergency and that operations continue under the order.
- Separately, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court that federal law permits National Guard support because “regular forces” means civilian enforcement like DHS and ICE; lower courts have kept the Guard deployment in Illinois on hold.