US Border Patrol Officer Summoned By Judge For Shooting Water Gas At Demonstrators

US National Guard/DOK PHOTO via Instagram @us.nationalguard

JAKARTA - Federal judge summoned a top US Border Patrol official who led President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in Chicago to appear in court on Tuesday.

This was done after a video circulated showing officers using tear gas that could potentially violate a court order that limits its use of protesters.

As reported by Reuters on Tuesday, October 28, Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol operations commander, was ordered to attend a hearing directly by US District Judge Sara Ellis, who earlier this month banned federal agents from using certain mass control tactics following lawsuits from protesters.

Trump, a Republican, has made Chicago the focus of his aggressive immigration law enforcement efforts over the past two months.

Under the leadership of Bovino, federal agencies have used tear gas in residential areas and forcibly beat protesters as they attempted to arrest suspected immigration violators, sparking criticism and legal supervision.

Three former federal immigration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters it was unusual for a top official to be summoned to court in a short time.

Ellis ordered Bovino to come after protesters sent a video they said showed Bovino violating an earlier court order ordering federal agencies to provide several warnings before using tear gas and other riot weapons.

In the video, Bovino appears to have fired tear gas at protesters gathered as federal agents made arrests last Thursday in the Chicago area known as home to many Mexican immigrants.

Earlier, US Department of Homeland Security spokesman totaling McLaughlin said agents were surrounded by a large group of people while carrying out law enforcement operations.

He said some people in the crowd fired fireworks and threw stones, hit Bovino's head, and that agents gave warnings before using chemicals.

A DHS spokesman on Monday defended Bovino and the agency's mass control tactics.

"DHS can't think of a better person to correct Judge Ellis' deep misunderstanding about his mission, and we thank him for his services," the spokesman said.