During a visit to the Broadview ICE facility publicized by Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s office as “congressional oversight” of the “brutal tactics used by federal agents against protestors,” Sens. Dick Durbin and Duckworth took questions from the crowd until they were asked if protesters arrested for assaulting ICE agents should face the same consequences as the January 6 capitol rioters.
“What about the federal officers that are being assaulted by the protesters? Should they be treated the same way as the J-Sixers that assaulted federal officers?” activist Terry Newsome asked the pair.
Durbin, who has demanded harsh punishment for those involved in the Capitol riot, appeared to physically react to the question and refused to answer. Duckworth remained silent as well.
Newsome posted video of the Oct. 10 exchange on X.
“Durbin’s response was to shake his head in disgust and make a face!” Newsome said in the post. “MSM (mainstream media) didn’t report on my question. I thought ‘nobody is above the law!'”
Graphic video footage from the October 4 Broadview riot shows crowds pushing against state patrol officers as they shield ICE agents and command that protestors “back up” and get out of roadways.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that multiple protesters were arrested for ramming their cars into federal vehicles.
One of the drivers, Marimar Martinez, was shot by CBP agents for allegedly brandishing a gun. After being released from the hospital she was taken into custody by the FBI.
“The armed woman was named in a CBP intelligence bulletin last week for doxing agents and posting online ‘Hey to all my gang let’s fu*k those mother fu*kers up, don’t let them take anyone,’” McLaughlin said in a post on X.
Confrontations between protesters and federal agents in Chicago have sparked heated debates over media portrayal and political framing—with conservatives accusing mainstream media outlets and Democrat officials of portraying violent rioters as “peaceful” while casting ICE agents as aggressors.
Earlier this month, DHS reported a 1,000% increase in assaults on officers since the beginning of Operation Midway Blitz—the crackdown targeting criminal illegal aliens in the Chicago area that has led to over 1,500 arrests.
DHS attributed the spike in attacks against law enforcement to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “Smorgasbord of Lies” and urged media outlets to avoid spreading misinformation, including the debunked viral image of agents zip-tying a toddler.
Pritzker accused ICE agents of “running around the Loop harassing people for not being white,” making unlawful arrests and using excessive force, according to Fox News.
Over the weekend DHS announced the arrest of a “suspected ANTIFA terrorist” Elias Cepeda who “has a history of glorifying violence against—and the killing of—our brave law enforcement.”
“Violent individuals like Cepeda are putting the public and our law enforcement’s lives in danger. Just two days after the horrific attack on ICE in Dallas, Cepeda brought a loaded gun and multiple magazines to our ICE Broadview facility,” McLaughlin’s statement regarding the Sept. arrest read, in part.
One anti-ICE activist openly described her motivation for attending protests.
“White privilege means my life is not made harder by the color of my skin… if I get to the front of the line like I would go to George Floyd marches, if I get to the front and am face to face with law enforcement, they’re not grabbing me,” she said. “But if a person of color is at the front, they’re going to grab them. So I’m there to try and be that first line.”
The 2020 George Floyd protests resulted in at least 15 deaths and more than 284 police officer injuries nationwide, including in Chicago, where the violence resulted in over 2,100 buildings damaged or looted and 71 set ablaze. In Illinois, the total estimated damages exceeded $66 million, with over 1,100 arrests made.
In contrast, the Jan. 6 Capitol attack resulted in over 1,265 charges and more than 460 imprisonments, including convictions for serious felonies such as assaulting federal officers and seditious conspiracy. More than 718 guilty pleas were secured in those cases.
President Donald Trump later provided a vast pardon to most involved in the Jan. 6 riot.
