A former Cook County prosecutor has collected a tear gas canister from his front lawn in a residential Chicago neighborhood and submitted it to a law firm that is preparing a lawsuit over the persistent use of tear gas by immigration officers against residents who object to their raids across the city. The incident occurred in Old Irving Park, where parents and children were preparing for a Halloween parade when federal agents caused disruption in the area.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Brian Kolp, the former prosecutor, was watching news coverage on Saturday morning about a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis earlier this month, which barred federal agents from using riot control weapons like tear gas against protesters who do not pose an immediate threat to officer safety. He realized that federal agents were on his street in Old Irving Park.
“I could see two fully uniformed agents in military fatigues literally tackling a guy right here in my front lawn,” Kolp told CBS News.
The man detained by the agents, Luis Villegas, had been working at a house in the neighborhood. His brother told reporters that Villegas was an undocumented immigrant who arrived in the United States with his family at the age of four.
Neighbors came out of their homes to film and confront the agents, with some shouting, “Get off of him!” One individual reportedly called one of the officers a “fucking Nazi.” According to Block Club Chicago, the agents then put on their gas masks and attacked at least two people.
A member of a rapid response team that alerts locals when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other federal agents are in the area said a 67-year-old woman was “knocked to the ground” by masked officers. She and a 70-year-old man were detained, while Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed they were “arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer.”
McLaughlin also stated that Villegas was arrested for a previous assault charge, but provided no evidence of his criminal background.
In nearby Avondale, Chicago Tribune reporter Laura N. Rodríguez Presa reported that another woman was pushed to the ground by an ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent when she approached their vehicle during another anti-immigration operation. “This appears to be the new normal in Chicago,” said Rodríguez Presa.
In Old Irving Park, the “new normal” for residents on Saturday included federal agents deploying tear gas as families were heading to a neighborhood Halloween parade. Resident James Hotchkiss described hearing whistles—a sound commonly associated with ICE activity—before witnessing agents tackle a man on a neighbor’s front yard.
About 10 minutes later, Hotchkiss saw smoke in the air and experienced burning eyes. “I took my glasses off because my eyes were burning,” he said. “I saw someone pour water on a gas canister that appeared to be on fire.”
Heather Cherone, a senior reporter at WTTW, noted that the attack on Old Irving Park marked the “third straight day that federal agents have deployed tear gas against Chicagoans and the seventh time in 22 days,” despite the court order.
Kolp told Fox 32 that he did not see anyone with a weapon that would justify the agents’ use of force. “So you had folks who were literally out on the street taking their kids to this Halloween parade when this happened,” he said. “I didn’t see anybody make physical contact with these agents. I didn’t see anybody do anything that justified, for instance, taking my 70-year-old neighbor to the ground.”
After approximately 30 minutes, the agents left the neighborhood, and the Halloween parade continued, though many families chose to stay home. Kolp retrieved a tear gas canister from his yard, stating that it would be critical for the judge to understand the facts of the case.
Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday to address questions regarding the continued use of tear gas by agents in violation of Judge Ellis’s order.
“I was pretty upset to be honest with you,” Kolp told the outlet. “I am an attorney. I used to work with and in law enforcement, and watching this happen in my front yard was just not something that I ever thought was gonna come to my front door. But you know, here we are.”
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