Crime & Law
Feds Drop Charges Against Laugh Factory Manager Accused of Assaulting Immigration Agent in Lakeview
(WTTW News)
The manager of Chicago’s Laugh Factory comedy club is no longer facing charges that he assaulted a federal immigration officer during a scuffle that went viral on social media during the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration raids.
Nathan Griffin, 24, is now the latest person to have been charged during what the federal government called “Operation Midway Blitz” in a blaze of publicity only to have prosecutors quietly dismiss the case after failing to get an indictment or determining that there was not enough evidence to go forward.
Griffin was charged with one count of forcibly assaulting and interfering with a federal agent in the performance of his official duties in connection with a melee that occurred on Oct. 24, hours before a team of masked immigration agents tear gassed a crowd in Lakeview.
Court records did not reveal why prosecutors dropped the charge facing Griffin. The deadline for Griffin to be indicted was Wednesday. Prosecutors could ask a judge to allow them to refile the charge at a later date.
A lawyer for Griffin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WTTW News.
It is highly unusual for federal charges to be dropped before an indictment.
The incident began when two Border Patrol agents were searching for a body-worn camera near Broadway and Belmont Avenue that had been lost during a previous immigration arrest, according to court records.
Video captured by the agents’ body-worn cameras showed Griffin closed a car door on a U.S. Border Patrol agent’s leg as the agent was trying to get out of his vehicle, causing a “small gouge and scrapes,” according to the criminal complaint filed against Griffin.
But Curtis Flagg, the Laugh Factory’s president of operations, told the Chicago Tribune that Griffin was walking with his mother when he saw a man getting detained.
When Griffin intervened by asking the agents to leave the man alone, agents tackled him to the ground, triggering a melee caught on video by bystanders before Griffin was detained and taken away.
Two Chicago police officers were present at the scene of the incident. At least one appears to speak to Griffin and attempts to restrain another member of the public trying to prevent him from being taken away.
City ordinance prohibits police officers from assisting federal agents carry out immigration enforcement actions.
A CPD spokesperson said officers responded to a “call of a battery in progress at Belmont Avenue and Broadway.”
“Upon arrival, officers observed federal agents engaged in a physical altercation with two individuals,” according to the statement. “A crowd had also gathered in the area. Officers worked to de-escalate and conduct crowd control to ensure all those who had gathered at the location remained safe. CPD did not make any arrests and left the scene once the area was cleared.”
WTTW News’ Matt Masterson contributed to this report.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
