Illinois State Police (ISP) swarmed into a crowd of anti-ICE protesters in the Chicago suburb of Broadview and made several arrests for “unlawful assembly” on Saturday after the small town's mayor imposed an 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. curfew during protest hours.
After weeks of increasingly violent protests near the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois State Police were brought in after the Trump administration threatened to send Texas National Guard troops to guard the federal facility.
The ISP's response came after Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson, a Democrat, proposed a curfew for the protests.
Thompson admitted NewsNation said she is “in a position where every decision I have to make, people are not going to like it,” but noted that allowing protesters to continue to gather throughout the night affects the quality of life of local residents who live in the blocks across the street from the industrial area where the ICE facility is located.
Thompson ruled that protesters could only gather from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This new rule gave the ISP an excuse to crack down on Saturday night's protests.
ISP officers arrested At least 15 protesters gathered Saturday night and drew a large crowd outside the ICE facility.
Activist Dr. Allie Muhammad, who claims to represent the Mississippi-based Revolutionary Black Panther Party, says he and other anti-ICE protesters are outraged by Mayor Thompson's curfew.
“By the way, we are concerned about this restriction,” Muhammad. said media. “We feel that the mayor of Broadview considers himself an ally, but we are not happy with the 9 to 6 curfew, so we are going to call a halt to the curfew.”
Despite the anger, the crowd had thinned to just a few people by 7pm on Saturday.
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