Photojournalist struck by pepper balls, tear-gassed at Illinois ICE protest

An unidentified photojournalist with the Chicago Sun-Times was struck by two pepper balls and exposed to tear gas while covering a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, Illinois, on Sept. 19, 2025.

The photojournalist was standing off to the side of the protest when they were hit with the munitions, fired by federal agents during one of a series of demonstrations held outside the facility where detainees are held and processed ahead of deportation. A tear gas canister also landed near the photojournalist’s feet.

The incident appeared to be targeted, according to information shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker by the Chicago News Guild. The journalist is not being named due to safety concerns.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a Tracker request for comment. In a press release on Sept. 26, DHS described the demonstrators as “rioters,” some of whom were reportedly chanting “shoot ICE.”

“These violent threats and smears about ICE must stop,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. She also called on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to “condemn these riots and tone down their rhetoric about ICE.”

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson sent a letter to DHS, Block Club Chicago reported, accusing ICE officials of “making war” on her community. Thompson asked that the agency stop “deploying chemical arms such as tear gas, pepper spray, etc. against American citizens, our residents, and our first responders.”

According to a Sept. 27 news release, the village of Broadview said that in retaliation for Thompson’s letter, “ICE agents this morning informed the Broadview Police Department that there will be ‘a sh*t show’ in Broadview today.”

Indeed, federal officers responded to protests with chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions that day — affecting multiple journalists — and later arrested a reporter.