Politics

Trump Administration Continues Crackdown on Press, Critics Following Federal Judge’s Ruling in Illinois

A federal judge last week temporarily barred federal agents from using “riot control weapons” like tear gas and pepper spray on reporters and protesters who aren’t an immediate threat.

That order applies to all federal law enforcement personnel, officers and agents deployed across the Northern District of Illinois. The ruling comes after a group of Chicago-area reporters and protesters sued the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is ramping up his crackdown on the press and his critics.

This comes after an ICE raid near 105th Street and South Avenue N in the East Side neighborhood Tuesday morning. Immigration agents used tear gas on protesters and Chicago police officers who had gathered after a car crash involving those agents. Police reports say some protesters were throwing things at the agents.

Federal agents have also repeatedly clashed with protesters at the ICE facility in suburban Broadview.

Last week, in a roundtable discussion on the impacts of antifa protesters, Trump said that some of the protesters’ actions have sparked public safety concerns around the country.

“We took the freedom of speech away because that’s been through the courts,” Trump said. “The courts said, ‘You have freedom of speech.’ But what has happened is when they burn a flag, it agitates and irritates crowds; I’ve never seen anything like it, on both sides, and you end up with riots.”

But reporters and protesters who filed the suit said they weren’t posing a public safety threat and ICE agents have been targeting them. The lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order to stop federal agents from using excessive force without a reason.

Kevin Fee, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said many protesters and reporters had been experiencing escalating violence.

“They have been shot with pepper balls,” Fee said. “Sometimes it was very close range. They have been slammed to the ground, detained, pulled inside of detention facilities. Then they’re released without charge.”

The ruling orders federal agents to stop firing nonlethal weapons and arresting members of the press who aren’t committing crimes. The order also requires federal agents to identify themselves. The order expires Oct. 23, when the judge will have to decide whether to extend the legal protections.

Meanwhile, several media outlets like CNN, ABC News and Fox News are pushing back  against the Pentagon’s new press access rules. The changes were made in an effort to prevent sensitive information from leaking.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X that the press “no longer roams free.” The media also must wear visible badges and can’t “solicit criminal acts.”

Charles Whitaker, dean of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, said that the Trump administration’s efforts show a selective interpretation of free expression, where any speech that is critical of the government isn’t welcomed.

“It is absolutely an attempt of censorship,” Whitaker said. “But it’s heartening to see a variety of news outlets from each perspective coming together and saying that this is untenable. This is not journalism; this is public relations.”

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