Today, in a major victory for the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis entered a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), preventing federal officers from using unlawful tactics against peaceful protesters, members of the clergy, and journalists reporting the news throughout the Chicago area.
“Individuals are allowed to protest,” Judge Ellis said in issuing the order today. “They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment of our constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.”
The TRO restricts the use of force—including tear gas, pepper-spray, flash bang grenades, and other so-called “less-lethal” weapons and tactics—which, as the plaintiffs explained in their complaint, have been indiscriminately and disproportionately used on both civilians peacefully protesting and reporters covering the protests. In addition, it prevents federal officers from conducting illegal arrests and from preventing lawful demonstrations.
“For weeks, federal forces sent to Chicago have terrorized residents,” says Steve Art, of the civil rights law firm of Loevy + Loevy. “They have used incredible violence against civilians, against demonstrators, against religious and political leaders, and against the press. They hope to scare us into silence and submission. But the community here in Chicago will not be bullied. Today, because of the work of hundreds of brave community members, a federal judge has entered an injunction prohibiting the illegal conduct of federal agents in the Chicago area. We applaud the Court’s ruling, which will protect constitutional rights and many members of our community.”
Father Brendan Curran, a Dominican priest and a declarant in the lawsuit, has been leading prayer vigils at Broadview for nearly 20 years, “to stand in front of the front door and simply offer a prayer, seeking for decency, seeking for humanity, and a sense of decency in comprehensive immigration reform,” he explains. But what Fr. Curran witnessed over the past few weeks he describes as “appalling.” “I saw snipers on the roof of the detention center, pointed down at us simply trying to pray from our beliefs, in what we believed was a country of freedom.”
Bill Paulson, a retired painter from Chicago, is a plaintiff in the case. “I am neither a terrorist nor a violent protester, I’m just an ordinary guy,” he says. He went to Broadview because he wanted the people inside the detention center to know they were not alone. The night he went, however, there was what he describes as “a wholesale attack,” with tear gas bombs and flash bang grenades. “It was terrifying, and I’ve never felt so alone.” The judge’s ruling today, he says, re-instilled his faith in his country.
“This is a special day,” agrees Craig Futterman, Director of the Civil Rights & Police Accountability Project at the University of Chicago Law School, and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. “A special day for America, a special day for Chicago. It is a day that reaffirms our fundamental freedoms, a day that reaffirms democracy, a day that should give us all faith. And it came about due to the courage of ordinary people and the press who put themselves on the line to protect our most sacred rights.”
Autumn Reidy-Hamer, another plaintiff in the case, said she went to Broadview to lend her voice to her neighbors. “I used my voice to speak out because I was modeling what it means to be a good citizen for my children: to care for people, to help people when they need help, and—when they’re harmed—to speak out so it doesn’t happen again.”
“This country was born from the idea that free people cannot tolerate an overbearing leader using force to prevent a community from expressing their views, practicing their religion, or reporting on the abuses of the government,” said Hayden Johnson, counsel at Protect Democracy. “Over the last weeks and months, Chicagoans have bravely sought to express and protect these freedoms in the face of severe government abuse. Today’s ruling recognizes that those efforts—peacefully opposing a federal incursion into your city and reporting the events—require the utmost constitutional protection.”
Plaintiffs in the case include media organizations and outlets Chicago Headline Club, Block Club Chicago, the Chicago Newspaper Guild Local 34071, the National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians Local 54041, and individual journalists Raven Geary, Charles Thrush, and Stephen Held, whose attempts to report the truth have been met with targeted attacks and widespread government violence. The TRO prevents agents from unlawfully interfering with journalists throughout the Chicagoland area.
Stephen Griswold, President of the NABET-CWA Local 41, spoke on behalf of the media plaintiffs, who joined this case to protect their right to do their jobs safely without the risk of violence or government suppression.
“Today is a good day for the members of CWA, the Chicago News Guild, and the other Chicago media outlets who have the responsibility and privilege of covering historic events here in Chicago,” he said. “Our constitutional First Amendment rights should never be taken lightly, and we should all stand together to protect these rights.”
“The First Amendment protects the right to assemble and speak out against government actions,” said Rebecca Glenberg, Chief Supervising Legal Counsel, First Amendment, at the ACLU of Illinois. “Protesters and journalists like our clients are a crucial part of the public debate that undergirds a working democracy. The court’s ruling recognizes that government violence against freedom of speech violates the constitution and undermines our most cherished national values.”
“Today’s ruling would not have been possible without the bravery of the Plaintiffs and many others who stood up in the face of egregious state violence and misconduct,” agrees Daniel Massoglia, Director of the Civil Rights Clinic at First Defense Legal Aid. “It sends a powerful message in favor of press freedom, religious freedom, and the freedom to dissent against government abuses.”
Plaintiffs were represented by attorneys from Loevy + Loevy, the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Chicago School of Law, Protect Democracy, First Defense Legal Aid, and the ACLU of Illinois.
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