(CHICAGO) — The Border Patrol official tasked with leading the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown in Chicago admitted to lying about a rock-throwing incident used to justify deploying tear gas against protesters, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said Thursday before issuing a preliminary injunction limiting the use of force during immigration arrests and protests.
The Oct. 23 incident involving Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino, has been a key part of the court proceedings challenging the tactics of immigration agents during the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” which began in September.
Video of the incident showed Bovino throwing a gas canister at demonstrators in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood without giving a verbal warning — a violation of the judge’s earlier temporary restraining order limiting the use of force, the judge said.
“Mr. Bovino and the Department of Homeland Security claimed that he had been hit by a rock in the head before throwing the tear gas, but video evidence disproves this. And he ultimately admitted he was not hit until after he threw the tear gas,” Ellis said Thursday.
At the time of the incident, DHS defended Bovino’s actions saying that a Border Patrol transport van transporting undocumented immigrants was attacked by demonstrators.
“The mob of rioters grew more hostile and violent, advancing toward agents and began throwing rocks and other objects at agents, including one that struck Chief Greg Bovino in the head,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement after the incident.
She said in the statement that Border Patrol agents repeated multiple warnings.
“Agents properly used their training. The use of chemical munitions was conducted in full accordance with CBP policy and was necessary to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the public,” McLaughlin said in the statement.
ABC News has reached out to DHS; about the discrepancy between its account of what happened and the judge’s ruling. A spokesperson responded with a statement criticizing the judge’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction.
“This injunction is an extreme act by an activist judge that risks the lives and livelihoods of law enforcement officers,” the spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. “Rioters, gangbangers, and terrorists have opened fire on our federal law enforcement officers, thrown rocks, bottles, and fireworks at them, slashed the tires of their vehicles, rammed them, ambushed them, and they have destroyed multiple law enforcement vehicles. Despite these real dangers, our law enforcement shows incredible restraint in exhausting all options before force is escalated.”
The spokesperson said DHS would appeal the judge’s order.
During Thursday’s hearing, the judge listed several other instances that she said proved federal agents disregarded the First Amendment rights of journalists, demonstrators and religious practitioners.
She referenced a Sept. 19 video of an incident involving protesters at the Broadview immigration facility.
“The protesters were standing far away. Agents immediately began lobbying … flash-bang grenades and tear gas with no warning whatsoever,” Ellis said.
The judge said she saw little reason for the use of force that federal agents used.
“Overall, this calls into question everything that defendants say they are doing in their characterization of what is happening either at the Broadview facility or out in the streets of the Chicagoland area during law enforcement activities,” she said.
In a deposition, played in court earlier this week, Bovino defended his own conduct and that of other immigration agents, saying he believed “all uses of force have been more than exemplary” during the operation in the Chicago region.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
- Day care worker detained by immigration agents had valid work permit, temporarily barred from removal - November 7, 2025
- Cornell University agrees to pay $60M in deal with Trump administration over frozen research funds - November 7, 2025
- ‘It’s insane’: ACA policyholders say soaring health insurance premiums are jeopardizing lives - November 7, 2025
