After judge finds Chicago commander 'lied,' Trump's agents hit with an injunction
Judge Ellis blocked "all chilling of First Amendment rights" by Greg Bovino and the agents he supervises.
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After declaring in court that the face of Donald Trump’s so-called Operation Midway Blitz “admitted that he lied” in a deposition, a federal judge issued an injunction on Thursday blocking “all chilling of First Amendment rights.”
The Chicago Sun-Times first reported the ruling live from federal court in the Northern District of Illinois, shortly after footage from Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino’s deposition hit the public docket.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis had ordered Bovino’s five-hour deposition after a coalition of journalists, protesters and clergy sued the federal government over the use of excessive force in a case captioned Chicago Headline Club v. Noem.
Bovino “admitted that he lied” multiple times during that deposition, the judge reportedly remarked from the bench.
Two of those lies concerned Bovino’s denial that he tackled an older man at a protest and his claim that he didn’t witness a clergyman being struck with a pepper ball.
When asked whether an exhibit showed him tackling a man named Scott Blackburn, Bovino replied, “No.”
“Did you not tackle him?” asked plaintiff’s attorney Locke E. Bowman, III.
“No,” Bovino reiterated.
“Okay, so if somebody were watching that video and thought that you tackled the older gentleman, whose name is Scott Blackburn, you’d say, ‘Don’t believe your lying eyes. That’s not what happens on the video,’” Bowman added.
In another part of his testimony, Bovino testified that the word “exemplary” wasn’t strong enough to describe the behavior of his agents on the ground in Chicago. Bowman responded by describing the pepper ball shooting of Rev. David Black, a Protestant clergyman.
“You’ve seen the video striking Reverend Black with pepper balls that are being fired from the top of the ICE facility,” Bowman said.
But Bovino disputed the premise, insisting: “I’m unable to comment on what that use of force is or anything else. I was not there.”
The judge reportedly found that Bovino also lied by claiming that a protester struck him with a rock in order to justify throwing a tear gas canister into a crowd.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals previously struck down Judge Ellis’s order forcing Bovino to report to her daily about his compliance with her prior temporary restraining order, finding that the order put her in the “position of an inquisitor rather than that of a neutral adjudicator.”
In her latest order, Ellis took a more measured approach: “I’m not telling defendants how to staff its operations,” she said, according to the Sun-Times.
The Sun-Times reported that Ellis read poet Carl Sandburg’s “Chicago” in full before announcing her ruling.
Note: Judge Ellis has not yet issued her written opinion detailing the scope of her announced injunction. Check back later for more information about the scope of her relief.
Watch the video below on ’s All Rise News playlist with more clips from Bovino’s deposition.
If he lied under oath, he should be prosecuted for perjury.
In a non-criminal administration, a major official lying repeatedly both in public and on the witness stand would be fired. In this case, he’s just following the example set by his ultimate boss, who no doubt approves, rewards and encourages this behavior.