We were singing old protest hymns like “We shall not be moved.” We eventually changed it to “Even if they tear gas us, we shall not be moved.” We also sang “We shall not be moved,” in Spanish. This song is about standing up for justice in a metaphorical sense. We were not literally blocking anything and no one ever asked us to move. Nonetheless, we were continuously tear-gassed and had pepper balls launched at us.
The Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Hinsdale

Federal court records provide a continuing flow of first-hand unfiltered information about the attacks on First Amendment rights by ICE agents. The documents below were filed in against the federal government by a group of reporters, journalism organization, and other who say they witnessed numerous incidents of escalating violence by federal agents in response to demonstrations outside the ICE detention center in Broadview, Illinois, twelve miles from downtown Chicago.

According to Politico:

The plaintiffs are urging the court to protect the First Amendment rights of protesters to peacefully demonstrate around the facility and of journalists to “observe, record, and report on the federal agents’ activities and the public’s demonstrations against them.”

The suit — which was filed by the newsroom Block Club Chicago, the Chicago Headline Club, local labor unions representing Chicago-area journalists and a group of individual journalist and protesters — lists specific incidents in which they say agents targeted the press, including instances where they allege six journalists were hit with either pepper balls or tear gas despite wearing visible press credentials.

They also list eight examples of protesters and residents who they said were harmed or injured by ICE officers’ “violent presence” — including a minister for a local Presbyterian Church who allegedly was struck by the pepper balls and sprayed with tear gas while trying to offer prayers to the crowd.

The 52-page complaint can be read for free online.

Among the exhibits filed in court are several declarations by members of the clergy representing different religious denominations which describe what they witnesses and, in some cases, assaults they suffered at the hands of armed federal agents.

I’ve combined several of these, which are posted below.