Mayor Calls BS on Trump DHS Goons’ Wild Excuse for Violent Arrest Video
Evanston’s Daniel Biss said agents “forced” a car crash and “beat up” bystanders, while DHS claimed a man grabbed an agent’s genitals.
The mayor of Evanston, a Chicago suburb where a Border Patrol agent was filmed striking a U.S. citizen in the head during an immigration arrest, is accusing the Department of Homeland Security of lying about the circumstances of the incident.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Pace, 48, said he will launch two investigations after a video surfaced showing Border Patrol agents kneeling on a handcuffed man and repeatedly striking him in the back of the head.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed its agents were being “hostilely pursued” by a red sedan, which then rammed the Border Patrol SUV as they attempted a U-turn, prompting a hostile crowd to gather.
But Pace told CNN, “They caused this car accident, and then they started hitting innocent bystanders,” calling the Department of Homeland Security “a bunch of liars.”
The mayor also dismissed claims made by the Department of Homeland Security, presented by spokeswoman Kristi Noem, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin, and Gregory Bovino, head of Border Patrol under the Trump administration, on the website X. According to these claims, the man who was punched in the head in the video had grabbed and squeezed an officer’s genitals.
The department’s official account states: “As you know, this is a very painful experience for most people and warrants a response. The officer delivered several defensive blows to the assailant to free his genitals from the restraints.”
However, video footage clearly shows that the man’s hands were not near the officer’s genitals at the time of the blows.
A dozen witnesses filmed the incident on Friday, and several videos were subsequently posted online. One shows an officer handcuffing a man to the sidewalk and repeatedly striking him while the man yells, “I can’t breathe!” before dragging him toward a car, leaving his left shoe on the pavement.
Another video shows an officer pointing his weapon at a woman near the door of an SUV, while another uses pepper spray against bystanders who were filming the scene.
Pace echoed the Department of Homeland Security’s version of events, stating that the Border Patrol had “intentionally caused a traffic accident” by braking sharply in front of the red car. He also indicated that three American citizens had been arrested—a figure later confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security, which stated that the arrests stemmed from acts of violence against law enforcement.
Pace said the man struck in the arrest video did not receive immediate medical attention, adding that the city was considering referring him to the Illinois Attorney General’s Division of Civil Rights or the Cook County District Attorney.
City officials stated that Evanston police had begun sending a supervisor to the scene of any immigration reports to record badge numbers and preserve evidence. CNN reported that the initial statement from the Evanston Police Department indicated that officers arrived after the arrests had been made.
In the hours following the confrontation, immigrant rights activists and local residents held a vigil near Schutte Middle School. Illinois State Representative Jan Schakowsky wrote on X: “I am disgusted and outraged,” vowing to follow the situation closely and “stand up for the dignity of every person in our community.”
“This is anarchy. This is outrageous, and we must all stand against it,” Peace said. “To Gregory Bovino, Kristy Noem, ICE, and CBP: Get out of our city!”
The Department of Homeland Security and McLaughlin have a history of making false statements regarding immigration-related arrests. After Iris Diana Monterosso-Lemos lost her baby while in ICE custody, McLaughlin released a fact sheet labeling her a wanted murderer. Legal documents uncovered by The Daily Beast proved that the fact sheet was false.
McLaughlin also published false information regarding the violent arrest of a teenage girl earlier this month, and claimed that a 13-year-old boy in Everett, Massachusetts, was carrying a firearm at the time of his arrest, an allegation denied by the local police chief and the mayor.
