by
KAMIL
KRZACZYNSKI/AFP
via
Getty
Images)
Donald
Trump’s
military
takeover
of
blue
cities
continues,
though
several
federal
judges
are
attempting
to
put
a
few
speed
bumps
in
their
way.
One
such
judge
is
U.S.
District
Court
Judge
Sara
Ellis,
who
issued
a
temporary
restraining
order
barring
the
use
of
certain
tactics
in
federal
law
enforcement
interactions
with
protestors
and
media.
Should
be
pretty
straightforward.
Unfortunately,
U.S.
Border
Patrol
commander
Gregory
Bovino was
filmed
throwing
a
canister
of
tear
gas
during
a
protest
in
Chicago’s
Little
Village
neighborhood.
As
reported
by
CBS
News:
In
the
video,
Bovino
can
be
seen
in
uniform,
but
no
headgear,
pulling
out
a
canister
of
tear
gas
and
tossing
it
into
the
crowd
of
protesters
over
the
heads
of
other
agents.
As
the
camera
begins
to
move
away,
he
can
be
seen
pulling
another
canister
of
tear
gas
off
his
belt.
Plaintiffs
in
the
case
—
a
group
of
journalists,
protesters,
and
clergy
suing
the
Trump
administration
—
accuse
Bovino
of
engaging
in
tactics
on
Judge
Ellis’s
list
of
no-nos.
The
plaintiffs
argue
this
violates
“multiple
paragraphs”
of
the
court’s
Oct.
9
order,
which
prohibits
federal
agents
from
arresting,
threatening
to
arrest
or
using
physical
force
against
journalists
unless
there
is
probable
cause
to
believe
the
individual
has
committed
a
crime.
It
also
prohibits
them
from
issuing
crowd
dispersal
orders,
without
exigent
circumstances,
requiring
people
to
leave
a
public
place
where
they
otherwise
have
a
lawful
right
to
be.The
order
also
prohibits
federal
agencies
from
using
various
types
of
riot
control
weapons,
including
tear
gas
and
other
kinds
of
noxious
gas,
as
well
as
various
kinds
of
“less-lethal”
weapons
and
ammunition,
unless
there
is
an
immediate
safety
threat.
And
former
Cook
County
prosecutor
Brian
Kolp
witnessed
the
events,
saying,
“They
deployed
the
smoke
canister,
the
one
I
showed
you
a
picture
of,
with
no
audible
warning
whatsoever.”
Which
would
certainly
seem
to
violate
the
judge’s
order.
Now
Bovino’s
being
asked
to
answer
some
questions
about
what
exactly
went
down
—
the
government
was
ordered
to
produce
Bovino
for
an
in-person
hearing
in
front
of
Judge
Ellis
tomorrow.
That’s
in
addition
to
the
deposition
Bovino’s
already
been
ordered
to
sit
for
in
the
case.
But
if
you’re
expecting
a
mea
culpa
in
the
courtroom
tomorrow,
what
with
the
video
evidence
and
scores
of
witnesses,
don’t.
Already,
Assistant
Homeland
Security
Secretary
Tricia
McLaughlin
defended
the
use
of
tear
gas,
saying,
“Border
Patrol
agents
were
surrounded
and
boxed
in
by
a
group
of
agitators.
Federal
law
enforcement
issued
multiple
lawful
commands
and
verbal
warnings,
all
of
which
were
ignored…
Border
Patrol
had
to
deploy
crowd
control
measures.”
Plus
Bovino
has
taken
quite
the
aggressive
approach
himself.
Bovino
says
he
was
hit
in
the
head
with
a
rock,
though
the
video
notably
does
not
capture
that,
nor
does
he
appear
to
have
viable
injuries
post-confrontation
with
protestors.
And,
when
questioned
about
the
incident,
Bovino
reportedly
quipped, “Did
Judge
Ellis
get
hit
in
the
head
by
a
rock
like
I
did
this
morning?”
“Maybe
she
needs
to
see
what
that’s
like
before
she
gives
an
order
like
that,”
he
continued.
Suggesting
a
federal
judge
needs
to
be
hit
in
the
head
by
a
rock
isn’t
likely
to
make
your
cause
sympathetic
to
said
federal
judge.
And
given
the
sharp
increase
in
threats
against
federal
judges
—
up
327%
in
the
Trump
II
era
—
it
feels
like
a
pretty
dangerous
sentiment
too.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].