Pritzker calls for criminal investigations into ICE agents over ‘Midway Blitz’ conduct

By Fox News · Fox News

Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker is urging state officials to pursue criminal investigations into federal immigration enforcement agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz, citing a report released by a commission he created to investigate federal agents' conduct during the months-long investigation. Pritzker’s Thursday press conference unveiling the Illinois Accountability Commission’s recommendation to pursue criminal investigations into ICE and other federal agents came just over a month after he first vowed to seek criminal charges against Trump administration officials and law enforcement officers he said had "broken the law." "Our communities and our people were subjected to an unprecedented campaign of harassment, intimidation and brutality," Pritzker said at the news conference. "They deployed tear gas and smoke grenades against peaceful protesters and peaceful crowds and in peaceful neighborhoods. They committed flagrant and egregious abuses of power and force that went unchecked." CHICAGO RESIDENT FIRES BACK AT LIBERAL GOVERNOR'S PLEDGE TO SHIELD MIGRANTS FROM ICE RAIDS The report was compiled by eight members who were appointed to the commission by Pritzker. Members of the commission include retired judges, a retired law enforcement official, former prosecutors and a nonprofit leader. The report pinpointed more than a dozen incidents involving federal agents as alleged instances of misconduct that warrant further investigation, including the death of Silverio Villegas González, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was shot and killed by ICE agents. The more than 150-page report accused the Trump administration of lying about the motivation behind Operation Midway Blitz and that it "distorted key facts about events involving federal immigration agents." "High-level White House , DHS and other federal officials enabled and encouraged misconduct by ICE and CBP agents during Operation Midway Blitz by urging agents to ‘go hard,’ defending and mischaracter…