CHICAGO — Attorneys in an ongoing federal lawsuit Thursday accused Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino who, according to recent testimony is the head official leading “Operation Midway Blitz,” of violating a temporary restraining order by personally throwing tear gas toward a crowd of protesters during an immigration enforcement operation in the Little Village neighborhood.

Dressed in green fatigues with his trademark high-and-tight haircut, Bovino was captured on video appearing to lob a canister while standing in a parking lot next to federal agents. A still image from the recording was included in a two-page court document filed in federal court by journalism advocacy organizations.

The filing alleged Bovino violated “multiple paragraphs” of a restraining order entered by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis restricting when and how tear gas can be deployed by immigration officials when dealing with media and protesters.

The attorneys who brought the underlying suit told Ellis in the filing they were “currently working on providing the court with declarations and additional evidence regarding this incident.” They also accused federal agents of using pepper spray and throwing at least one protester to the ground.

According to another filing, a masked agent wearing no identification ordered the crowd to “clear the area” at one point, despite the fact that no one was obstructing any agents or their vehicles. Bovino and several other agents then confronted a woman who was recording the scene.

“What’d you say?” Bovino said, according to the court document. “Did you make a threat?”

The woman denied making a threat, but Bovino ordered agents to take her phone, the filing states. The agents grabbed at the woman’s shoulders and chest before pulling her to the ground, the document states. Once down, they kneeled on the woman’s back to restrain her, according to a photograph included in the filing.

The attorneys asked Ellis to conduct an inquiry into Bovino’s actions and order any “relief” that she deemed proper.

Ellis conducted a lengthy hearing just three days ago on alleged violations of her restraining order where Bovino was identified by a government witness as the leader of the ongoing Midway Blitz operation.

At the end of that hearing Monday, Ellis ordered Bovino to testify under oath in a deposition about tactics his officers have used and efforts they are making to comply with the judge’s orders. A date for that deposition had not been set as of Thursday, but it likely will come in the next two weeks.

Just before the latest filing, Ellis expanded the time for his deposition to five hours instead of two, and ordered the parties to “include the use of force incidents by (Customs and Border Patrol) in the neighborhood of Little Village” on Wednesday and Thursday, court records show.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions seeking comment. The Chicago Tribune also emailed Bovino directly but he did not immediately respond.

Federal immigration officials were in Little Village — a Southwest Side neighborhood that is home to Chicago’s largest Mexican American population — on Thursday for the second time in two days. Half a dozen people were detained in the raids Thursday, including a 16-year-old U.S. citizen. At least seven people were taken into custody Wednesday.

Video footage reviewed by the Tribune shows immigration agents by the Discount Mall being confronted by onlookers after they arrived Thursday. The shopping center, located next to the neighborhood’s arch, is known for its wide variety of goods — many of which are imported from Mexico and other parts of Latin America.

The mall has served as the community’s social and commercial heart for decades, which heightened tensions surrounding the presence of immigration enforcement. Locals chided and jeered the federal agents, who responded by deploying canisters. No previous warnings from agents could be heard.

Yani Sotelo, a mother of two, said she was running some errands when she noticed the agents walking around. Like other community members, she began to follow them and record them, allowing her to capture the moment Bovino appears to throw a canister at the crowd.

“He didn’t warn us, but threatened us with the bomb,” Sotelo said. “We were obviously angry and yelling things, but they were determined to get under our skin, to use excessive force.”

Bovino laughed and smirked after throwing the canister, she said.

Sotelo, who is Mexican American, said her family has lived in Little Village for decades. She still worries about being targeted by federal agents, given the number of U.S. citizens who have been detained in raids.

“We were all for them taking criminals,” she said. “But at this point they’re taking people for the color of their skin, we can’t even speak Spanish because then you become a target.”

According to Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, and community leaders at the scene, at least six community members had been arrested before a crowd gathered around the agents. Two U.S. citizens were also taken during the brief confrontation, said state Rep. Edgar Gonzalez. One of them is a 16-year-old student at Benito Juárez Community Academy in the Pilsen neighborhood.

The student had been released as of mid-afternoon Thursday, Sigcho-Lopez said at a news conference.

The student was on their way to school when they saw federal activity along 27th Street between Sacramento Avenue and Whipple Street, according to Sigcho-Lopez. Three other Benito Juárez students were also at the scene, Lopez said. Of the four students, two didn’t end up making it to class: the student who was detained and another who was “attacked” during the confrontation, Sigcho-Lopez said.

“It is outrageous that ICE agents are terrorizing minors,” Sigcho-Lopez said at news conference outside the school, where he was joined by fellow local elected officials, members of the Chicago Board of Education, Benito Juárez teachers and community organizers.

Pilsen Defense and Access, which has been going on daily patrols at drop-off and dismissal of Pilsen-area schools, had extra members at the Benito Juárez campus Thursday, volunteer Elias Cepeda said as he stood outside the school with an orange whistle around his neck.

Earlier in the day, Benito Juárez teacher Liz Winfield was taking attendance in her homeroom class Thursday morning when she marked a junior student absent, she recalled at the conference.

“Not because that student was sick, not because the student overslept or the bus was late,” she said. “It was because ICE had snatched him up on his way to school.”

Winfield said she’s angry — and frustrated — that students “have to add this worry to their school day.”

“The collective impact of the trauma this junior experienced ripples through our school community,” she said. “While it did not happen on school grounds, it makes no difference. Students share photos, students share texts, they talk. They know what’s going on.

“It impacts their lives, filling them with stress. … It makes learning nearly impossible.”

In a statement to the Tribune, Chicago police said officers responded to several 911 calls in the area Thursday, including at least one call placed by a federal agent.

“Upon arrival, CPD supervisors and officers observed a large crowd and worked to de-escalate,” a department spokesperson said in an email. “CPD officers were only on scene to maintain public safety through crowd control and traffic control. Officers secured the area and left the scene once the area was safely cleared.”

One person was arrested by Chicago police for allegedly battering an officer, and charges were pending, CPD added.

Thursday’s confrontation marked at least the fourth time that federal immigration authorities deployed tear gas in the city since the start of Operation Midway Blitz. In two of those instances, Chicago officers were also subject to the chemical agent.

Earlier this month, agents from Customs and Border Protection unleashed tear gas on a residential street in the East Side neighborhood after immigration officials were involved in a vehicle pursuit. The gas deployment came after angry people in the neighborhood started throwing rocks at agents’ vehicles, and at least three people were detained.

On Oct. 4, tear gas was used after federal agents shot a woman in Brighton Park after she allegedly used a vehicle to “box in” immigration authorities. The woman shot has since been federally charged with using a dangerous weapon to interfere with federal officers in the course of their official duties.

A day earlier, in Logan Square, federal agents tossed tear gas canisters at hecklers who were standing near an elementary school.

Baltazar Enriquez, of the Little Village Community Council, said that when he heard that the Border Patrol was again in Little Village on Thursday, he immediately mobilized and alerted others to join him to push them out.

“It’s time to go home, guys,” he said he told the agents. “We have no guns, but we have a whistle,” referring to the popular way Chicagoans have been alerting neighbors to ICE activity.

“We wanted to get them out of our neighborhood peacefully. We know that they want to provoke us, and we need to make sure we don’t fall for it,” Enriquez said, who had almost lost his voice following two days of confrontation with federal agents in the neighborhood.

Gonzalez, who was born and raised in Little Village, rushed over to the growing crowd when he heard the whistle. Upon arriving, agents deployed tear gas in the area without announcing, he said.

“The community members were not armed. They were angry and yelling at them, but no one had weapons,” Gonzalez said. “I was tear-gassed and pushed by the agents. It’s clear that they wanted to provoke us.”

When the agents finally drove off, some cheered: “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,” they said. “The people united will never be divided.”

Enriquez took a sip of water and began gathering his team again.

“We need to keep patrolling. They left now, but we know they’re going somewhere else.”

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