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A federal judge in Chicago has hauled Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino into open court after video surfaced that appears to show him tossing a tear-gas canister into a crowd during enforcement operations. Judge Sara Ellis ordered Bovino to report daily and demanded use-of-force records as she warned that the deployment of chemical agents may be violating a prior temporary restraining order. The abrupt courtroom showdown underscores just how politically charged law enforcement has become in cities like Chicago.
The footage from Little Village that plaintiffs submitted to the court is shocking — it shows a uniformed Border Patrol official pulling canisters and apparently lobbing at least one into a crowd without the clear, audible warnings the judge required. Plaintiffs and local journalists argue that agents used riot-control tactics against protesters, clergy and members of the press, while the agencies insist they were responding to thrown projectiles and immediate threats. Americans deserve clarity: if agents broke the rules they must answer for it, but rushing to label every defensive move as misconduct is dangerous.
This all unfolded amid “Operation Midway Blitz,” the federal sweep that the administration says has removed more than a thousand illegal entrants and criminal suspects in the Chicago area. The mission has drawn sustained protest and media outrage, but it also answered a very real problem of lawlessness in neighborhoods where public safety had broken down. The hard truth is that restoring order in Democrat-run cities takes personnel willing to do difficult work that local governments long refused to do.
Judge Ellis has also ordered agents to wear body cameras, display visible identification and provide daily updates — sensible transparency measures that any serious law-and-order supporter should welcome. The court was explicit in prohibiting certain riot-control methods against peaceful demonstrators without exigent circumstances, signaling that constitutional rights and public safety must both be protected. Federal agents should comply with the judge’s directives while officials back at DHS make sure policies, training, and clear rules of engagement are in place.
On the air, Fox News correspondents and the administration’s border czar have defended agents, arguing that officers faced rocks, fireworks and other assaults that forced split-second decisions to protect lives and complete arrests. Border czar Tom Homan, appearing on Fox’s Faulkner program, stressed the factual data he reviews and pushed back against media narratives that reflexively side with protesters over law enforcement. Media personalities like Mike Tobin have also reported from the scenes and described agents’ need to create space to secure suspects and equipment.
Still, conservatives must be honest with ourselves: there’s room for better oversight and clearer rules to avoid confusion in chaotic crowd situations. But we must also reject the reflex to criminalize every move by an officer in the line of duty while giving a pass to mobs that shout threats, hurl projectiles and try to obstruct law enforcement. Elected leaders who signal weakness encourage escalation; the only sustainable solution is firmness paired with accountability, not performative outrage.
Hardworking Americans watching this circus deserve a straightforward answer — are we going to back the men and women who enforce our laws, give them clear rules and cameras, and hold bad actors accountable, or are we going to keep letting political theater hamper public safety? If the left’s default is to vilify federal agents and kneecap enforcement in the name of optics, they are inviting more disorder into our streets. It’s time to stand with those who keep our communities safe and insist on real consequences for criminals, not the officers trying to stop them.
