Overview
- Judge Sara Ellis concluded DHS and ICE made widespread misrepresentations about Operation Midway Blitz, relying on video evidence that contradicted official accounts.
- Body-worn camera and helicopter footage undercut claims about the Little Village clashes, including fireworks alleged by DHS that the videos indicate were agents’ flashbangs.
- Ellis detailed incidents in Broadview where agents quickly deployed flashbangs, tear gas, and pepper balls without clear justification, alongside exaggerated characterizations of protesters’ gear.
- Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino’s testimony was deemed not credible, with the court citing shifting statements on when he threw tear gas and findings that his descriptions of threats were overstated.
- The judge also noted an agent used ChatGPT to help draft a report, and her injunction limiting certain crowd-control tactics is stayed by the 7th Circuit, which suggested a narrower order might be supportable while DHS downplayed the ruling’s effect.