Petition filed this morning cites absence of charges from State’s Attorney’s office; press conference with petitioners and attorneys to be held at noon today in Chicago’s Federal Plaza.
CHICAGO — This morning, a broad coalition of organizations, officials, and individuals submitted a petition to the Chief Judge of the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, asking for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes committed by federal agents operating during Operation Midway Blitz.
The petition was signed by nearly 250 concerned leaders, individuals, and organizations, including nonprofit organizations, attorneys and bar associations, religious leaders, media outlets, veterans’ groups, academics and educators, and elected officials.
“People are tired of hearing that nothing can be done,” says Marcela Rodriguez, Co-Executive Director at Enlace Chicago. “Someone needs to show this administration that no one is above the law, and the people of Cook County have already proven they’re not afraid to stand up for what’s right.”
According to the petition, during Operation Midway Blitz, federal agents—including those from ICE, CBP, and other DHS agencies—repeatedly and openly violated state criminal law, usually in full view of cameras. “Federal agents killed and maimed people, terrorized communities, and unleashed extreme force and chemical weapons indiscriminately against law-abiding residents who posed no threat to their safety,” it says. In addition to conspiring to commit these crimes, federal agents then obstructed justice and perjured themselves under oath to protect themselves from accountability.
“Homicide, attempted murder, aggravated battery, assault, kidnapping, conspiracy, perjury: these are all crimes, and the whole world saw them happen,” says Juan Pablo Herrera, PLSNA Board President and member of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). “There are hundreds of hours of videos documenting them, and thousands of pages of court records and sworn declarations. We have everything we need to file charges against the people who committed them—except a prosecutor with the will to do it.”
“While the Latino communities bore the brunt of the violence, DHS conducted its campaign of terror throughout all communities, including helicopter raids in the predominantly Black South Shore community, and chokeholds on the west side,” says Tanya Woods, Executive Director of the Westside Justice Center. “We have to stand together and united, to hold this administration accountable, for the safety of all Americans.”
Illinois law provides for the appointment of a special prosecutor in cases where the elected State’s Attorney has an actual conflict of interest. According to the petition, by deciding not to investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes of Operation Midway Blitz, the State’s Attorney has abdicated her statutory duty to protect the people of Cook County. The protocol recently released by the State’s Attorney Office only reinforces its reluctance to prosecute federal agents, the petition continues.
“We believe that no one is above the law in Illinois,” says Daniel Massoglia, Director of the Civil Rights Clinic at First Defense Legal Aid. “If we do not treat these actions as the crimes they are, the message to federal agents operating in Cook County will be that you can shoot unarmed civilians, assault journalists and clergy, brutalize protestors, and lie under oath with impunity. That’s not the message we should be sending at this moment in history.”
“Our communities deserve justice, not dismissal,” says Jocelyn Aranda-Ortiz, Deportation Defense Organizer at The Resurrection Project. “When federal agents harm our communities and no one is being held accountable, it sends a clear message: some people are above the law. That is not right. We demand justice. We demand accountability.”
A press conference will be held at noon today in Federal Plaza in Chicago, with petitioners—including Ms. Rodriguez, Mr. Herrera, Ms. Ortiz, and Ms. Woods—speaking and taking questions from the press.
All members of the media are encouraged to attend.
For a copy of the petition, click here.
For the full list of signatories, click here.
Link to this release on Loevy’s website here.
Video of the press conference will be available shortly after it concludes on Loevy + Loevy’s YouTube channel here.