U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered a preliminary injunction granting "complete relief" to a group of Chicago residents, protesters, journalists, and religious figures who said the Department of Homeland Security used "extreme brutality" to chill First Amendment rights.
At a court hearing on Thursday, Ellis repeatedly said she found the testimony of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be "not credible."
Border Patrol Chief Patrol Greg Bovino "admitted that he lied," the judge noted at one point.
"Agents pushed, shoved, tackled protesters, pointed guns at them, threw tear gas and deployed smoke canisters. Everyone that agents detained were released by the FBI, and none of them are currently charged with assault," she pointed out. "Those are the factual findings that I'm making to support this preliminary injunction."
"I see little reason for the use of force that the federal agents are currently using. Pointing guns, pulling out pepper spray, throwing tear gas, shooting pepper balls, and using other less lethal munitions do not appear to be appropriate," Ellis said. "It is difficult to see how an injunction ordering the government to comply with the Constitution can be harmful."
The judge found that the Trump administration's use of force in Chicago "shocks the conscience" and said she was "ordering complete relief to the plaintiffs."
According to the injunction, federal agents can only use force if it is "objectively necessary to stop an immediate threat of the person causing serious bodily injury or death to another person."
Ellis said that agents must give two separate warnings before deploying force, wear identification in two places, and wear body cameras.
"I don't find it appropriate to stay a preliminary injunction pending appeal," she added, acknowledging that the Trump administration was likely to appeal the order.
"Liberty once lost is lost forever," Ellis said, concluding the hearing with a quote from John Adams.