Sarah EllisThe federal judge published a 233-page ruling, in which she described in detail How were the confrontations between agents and protesters? During operations In chicago Which led to More than 600 arrests
The report is drawn from a case involving Ellis Limiting the use of force by border guards Against demonstrators and media professionals during the call “Operation Midway Blitz.”
He stated in the letter that upon review certificate Submitted by both parties, it appears that the testimony of the accused “Lacks credibility”. In this sense, he referred to the defendants’ own evidence, in particular Body camera recordings (Biological Weapons Conventionfor its abbreviation in English), often It showed the opposite of what the agents claimed In their reports.
The most prominent examples of contradiction and disbelief contained in the document are the following:
Projectiles fired by agents and demonstrators
The Trump administration has suggested that the force used by officers in the September 19 incident in… Broadview It was justified because The demonstrators set off fireworks.
However, the BWS video showed it It was the officers who deployed force and dispersed the crowd. Likewise, it was observed that the protesters did not fire a projectile until after they had fired it.
Use of tear gas in protests
In the famous little villageCapital of the Mexican Midwest“, Gregory Bovino (Chief of the Border Guard) The tear gas was fired around 10 a.m. without warning.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that protesters set off fireworks before the event. However, Ellis pointed out that aerial photographs and images of the Biological Weapons Convention revealed those explosions They were actually stun grenades fired by the agents themselves.
Inconsistency in the testimony of Gregory Bovino
The judge also decided in the ruling that the testimony of the head of the border guards was not credible. From this point he decided “Blatant lie” In court, he was evasive in his questions.
“Bovino was evasive during the three days he delivered his statement, either giving answers.”Nice“On plaintiffs’ counsel questions or lies,” Ellis wrote.
An example of this is his statement about the rock that hit his helmet before tear gas was fired in the small village. On the third and final day of his testimony. He admitted that he made a mistake Since the rock was thrown after spreading the chemicals.
With this evidence, the court concluded that: ‘Widespread misrepresentations’ The defendants question everything they claim regarding the events.
Therefore, it was concluded that the plaintiffs were “Great opportunity for success” In proving that the agents used force in a random and unjustified manner.