Illinois commission alleges pattern of misconduct, brutality in Operation Midway Blitz

CHICAGO - The Illinois Accountability Commission is calling on local prosecutors to investigate agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz.

A final report released Thursday details numerous accounts of misconduct by federal agents between September and December of last year, including violent confrontations with protesters and the use of tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets fired into crowds.

The report also documents two shootings, one of them fatal.

What they're saying:

Retired Judge Ruben Castillo, who led the commission, said it found a pattern of intentional misconduct and brutality.

"Our community has just been devastated. We've been brutalized, people have lived under fear. This is not something that occurred by accident, it was intentional. People were sent here in masks, in full military gear and they were brutalizing a community. And what was the goal? The goal was to get people to voluntarily… voluntarily self-deport," said Castillo.

Since the Trump administration began its immigration crackdown, Chicago has recorded the highest rate of self-deportations nationwide.

The White House said its operations targeted the "worst of the worst," but the Illinois commission disputed that claim.

"The facts show that the worst of the worst were not gone after. In fact, if the worst of the worst had been gone after, certain acts of violence that this administration is now touting would not have happened," Castillo said. 

What's next:

All information and videos collected by the commission will be preserved for future legal proceedings. The final report has been provided to prosecutors in Cook and Kane counties, as well as police agencies in Chicago, Evanston, Franklin and Elgin, for further investigation.