Oak Park Nerd

Judge Rules Feds Can't Pepper-Spray, Tear-Gas Journalists After Block Club Chicago And Others Sue Block Club and news organizations sued the federal government for its actions against journalists outside the Broadview ICE detention facility. Four of our journalists have been shot with pepper-spray...

“In issuing the temporary restraining order, Ellis barred federal agents from using riot control weapons including pepper-spray bullets and tear gas against journalists and protesters who don’t pose a serious threat to law enforcement officers or others.”

blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/j...

Perry says she will call the court back into session between 4:30 pm and 5 pm to rule; she gives DOJ until 4 pm to offer more evidence that anyone has called for national guard troops to protect the Dirksen courthouse.

Paul Ivery was an Oak Parker- the Oak Park Village President spoke on his behalf when they tried to have him held in pretrial detention.

Joshua Braver: How judicial deference could let Donald Trump turn the National Guard against Chicago The courts in California and Portland chose a deferential approach and left themselves vulnerable to Donald Trump’s aggression.

Judge April Perry faces a historic test in Chicago: whether to let President Trump deploy the Texas National Guard into the city. More precisely, said Prof. Joshua Braver in a recent opinion piece, "she must decide how much deference to give the president’s judgment:" buff.ly/3xVTmPk.

Thank you!!

Perry:"What troubles me about that reading of the statute is, if the executive branch chose to deploy one ICE agent to the Chicagoland area, and then that person was unable to solve all crime," then that could trigger the National Guard.

Hamilton says that's a "very different situation."

Perry: "I agree with you about the seriousness of threats, generally, across the United States right now. I don't think there's a single public servant, really, who is not being subject to threats.

"Mine started about 10 minutes after I got this case."

Perry asks whether the “petty acts of vandalism” including "slashed tires" and "keyed cars” is significant enough to impede the execution of federal laws even if it does not make it as “quick and easy” as they would like.

"Some of this frankly sounds like a Carrie Underwood song."

Perry asks again whether, if the inability to execute the law is b/c of the feds' "own provocation, does that matter under the law?"

Hamilton: "No, if that were true, the fact still remains that we are seeing sustained violence against federal personnel and property in Illinois."

Judge to rule on National Guard lawsuit filed by Illinois and Chicago in Thursday hearing A judge is set to rule on a lawsuit filed by Illinois and Chicago seeking to prevent the National Guard from being deployed by the federal government over their objections.

Judge Perry warned the hearing could be long as she has many questions, but also noted it takes on new urgency because in the time between the lawsuit being filed Monday and today's hearing, the government has already deployed 500 National Guard troops to Illinois and Chicago.

Perry: "For 19 years, Broadview had nothing but peaceful prayer vigils. … And then CBP shows up and then suddenly things take a turn for the worse."

Perry: "We would be in a very different position" if you were arguing the National Guard was just here to defend federal property and agents enforcing immigration law.
But you are not arguing that, she says.
"I am very much struggling to figure out where this would ever stop."

Perry asks directly whether the feds started the alleged violence in Chicago.

She asks whether it matters if the inability to execute the law was "caused by the federal agents."

Hamilton: "No, your honor."

Perry: "You have not committed that they are only going to be deployed at federal property or in support of immigration and customs enforcement."

Perry: "I am very much struggling to figure out where this would ever stop, because the plaintiffs really believe that it's not going to just stop with that. You haven't told me it's just going to stop with that."

Perry is asking whether the law could be triggered by Illinois' sanctuary status.

Hamilton: "Well, so, it's a hypothetical. It's very different from the situation here."

Perry: "It's not. It's not a hypothetical."

She notes AG Pam Bondi has suggested just that.

Perry: DOJ's definition of rebellion would mean that
"literally all nonviolent protest” could be considered evidence of rebellion. Is that your argument?
Hamilton: The president has determined there is a danger of a rebellion, and you must defer to that finding

Perry: "Every time someone doesn't show up for jury duty, they're engaging in rebellion."

Perry: "Are you aware that a federal judge found that ICE violated the First and Fourth Amendments rights of peaceful protestors at Broadview?"
She says that will inform her conclusion about the need for National Guard troops.
Hamilton: You must defer to the president

In non-legal terms: “you are full of shit.”

Perry: "Do you agree that carrying a gun is a protected constitutional right?"
Hamilton: "Yes, but in some cases it is unlawful."
Perry is pressing him on the conduct of federal agents at Broadview where protesters have been tear-gassed and shot with pepper pellets by federal agents

Perry is pressing Hamilton what she says is a disconnect between what lawyers for the president say is behind the deployment of National Guard troops (protect federal property and agents) and what the president says (stop crimes which are usually state matters.)
He has no direct response.

Perry: Do you acknowledge that your depiction of what is happening at Broadview does not at all reflect what the Broadview Police and the Illinois State Police?
Hamilton: You must give great deference to the president
Perry: "What if he is relying on invalid evidence?"

Perry asks, what if the president is relying on "completely invalid evidence?"

"What if DHS folks are not tethered to reality in their assessment of events. Does that matter?"

Hamilton: "A couple points …"

Perry: What will troops do?
DOJ: I don’t really have anything to add to the filings.”
Perry: Crowd and traffic control? Are they allowed to patrol the streets with weapons?
What are they being trained to do?
Are they allowed to pursue individuals or vehicles?
DOJ does not directly answer.

Perry says she doesn't mind the expectation that she give the president deference. But she wonders what to defer to — legal briefs or public statements.

Perry acknowledges the legal briefs, "but also before the court are a whole lot of public statements on social media but also in press conferences."

She says there's a "very large disconnect" between the two.

"Which one do I credit?"

Perry gives Trump lawyers until 3 p.m. to provide documentation that anyone from the Dirksen Courthouse requested National Guard troops.
Chief Judge Virigina Kendall said in a statement she had not asked for additional security at the courthouse, Perry says.
“That is not an accurate statement.”

Hamilton brought up plans to send troops to the Dirksen Federal Courthouse at the request of Federal Protective Services.

Perry tells Hamilton she's been told that is "untrue. No one from the Federal Protective Service requested any National Guard troops."

Hamilton: "This is a dynamic situation that could change, and the protection of our federal personnel and property is of the highest priority."