Feds appear to deploy chemical agent in standoff with Chicago residents

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Federal officers appeared to deploy chemical agents in a Chicago residential area on Tuesday after a chase involving Border Patrol agents and another vehicle led to a crash, according to a statement made by a state lawmaker.

Illinois State. Sen. Elgie Sims said in a statement that he’s monitoring a standoff between federal agents and bystanders, which led to agents using an unknown chemical agent to disperse crowds. Aerial video footage captured by NewsNation affiliate WGN captured a large presence of federal agents on Chicago’s East Side, where Chicago Police responded to reports of a crash.

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One vehicle reportedly involved in the crash has been towed, according to the local station.

Footage captured from a WGN helicopter showed people holding large flags dispersing after agents could be seen throwing canisters on the ground that produced white smoke. Video footage also captured what appeared to be small objects being thrown toward law enforcement officers as part of the standoff between local residents and federal agents.

A DHS spokesperson told NewsNation that a chase between federal agents and an immigrant who entered the United States illegally ensued during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in which the driver reportedly rammed a Border Patrol vehicle and attempted to leave the scene.

Border Patrol agents used a precision immobilization technique to stop the vehicle, and two people, whom the agency identified as illegal aliens, attempted to run from the vehicle. Both men were arrested, the DHS spokesperson said.

The agency said that federal officers used “crowd control measures” after a nearby crowd began hostile, the spokesperson said.

“This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest and agitators and criminals ramming cars into our law enforcement officers, the DHS spokesperson said.

Sims, the Democrat state official, however, criticized the release of the unknown chemical agent to break up the crowd that assembled at the scene of Tuesday’s incident.

“Using a chemical agent to disperse a crowd is unjust. No person should be targeted by the color of their skin, and no group should be attacked for standing up for what is right,” Sims said in a statement obtained by WGN. “Let me be clear: Now is not the time for hate and divisiveness. Now is the time to stand united as a community and to protect our neighbors.”

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