Protecting Protesters and the Press from Unconstitutional Federal Force in Illinois

Chicago Headline Club v. Noem

CHICAGO, IL – People hold signs and flags at a peaceful protest opposing “Operation Midway Blitz” and the presence of ICE, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

On October 6, 2025, a coalition of media organizations, clergy, and private citizens filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and federal agencies for violating their First Amendment rights in the Chicago area. The lawsuit argues that federal agents have used brutal and illegal force to suppress peaceful and constitutionally protected activities.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs are also filing an Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), asking a federal court for an immediate order to stop the government’s violent suppression of free speech. 

The coalition is represented by attorneys from Protect Democracy, Loevy + Loevy, the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Chicago School of Law, First Defense Legal Aid, and the ACLU of Illinois.

Background

Background

Over the summer of 2025, the Trump Administration deployed federal forces to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center in Broadview, IL. In recent weeks, federal agents have used intentional and escalating violence to brutally suppress free speech. 

These tactics include the dangerous and indiscriminate use of near-lethal weapons like tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper-balls, and flash grenades against peaceful protesters, journalists, and clergy. The complaint argues this is a blatant attempt by the federal government to interfere with the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly.

A federal court in Los Angeles recently granted an emergency order in a similar case, concluding that “federal agents’ indiscriminate use of force…will undoubtedly chill the media’s efforts to cover these public events and protestors seeking to express peacefully their views on national policies.”

The lawsuit seeks to:

  • Declare the violent tactics used by federal agents to suppress protected speech unconstitutional and unlawful.
  • Hold unlawful and set aside the government’s policy of using force to intimidate and silence protesters and the press.
  • Issue an injunction stopping the federal government’s illegal suppression of First Amendment activities.

This case is about ensuring the government cannot use violence to silence those who disagree with it. The case, Chicago Headline Club v. Noem, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Plaintiffs

Plaintiffs

  • Media Organizations and Journalists: Block Club Chicago, Chicago Headline Club, the Chicago Newspaper Guild Local 34071, the National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians Local 54041, and individual journalists.
  • Clergy: Pastor David Black of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago was shot seven times in the head and torso with projectiles containing a chemical agent while he was in a traditional posture of prayer.
  • Individual Protesters: William Paulson, a 67-year-old retired union painter with emphysema and COPD, was gassed and disoriented by flash grenades during an indiscriminate attack by ICE agents, causing him to fall to his hands and knees and vomit from the pain and inability to breathe.
Defendants

Defendants

  • President Donald J. Trump
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem
  • Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons
  • Acting Executive Associate Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Marcos Charles
  • ICE Chicago Field Office Director Sam Olson
  • Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Gregory Bovino
  • Attorney General of the United States Pam Bondi
  • Individual agents of ICE, CBP, DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of Justice
Case Documents

Case Documents