a note from fb--
It’s not every day a federal judge tells a top law enforcement officer to strap on a camera and report to her every single night.But that’s exactly what happened in Chicago, where U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just ordered Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino — the face of Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” — to wear a body cam and personally check in with her at 6 p.m. each weekday.
The hearing lasted more than an hour. Ellis, calm but furious, read her restraining order line by line, forcing Bovino to acknowledge every single rule his agents broke.
“It is difficult for me to see that the force being used is necessary to stop an immediate and serious threat,” she said, her voice cutting through the courtroom.
Her words weren’t abstract. They were about real people — Chicagoans who had been tear-gassed for protesting, reporters targeted for doing their jobs, and children who thought the parade they were walking to had turned into a war zone.
“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes, walking to a parade, do not pose an immediate threat,” Ellis said. “Their sense of safety was shattered.”
Bovino, known for his brash social media posts and photo ops with assault rifles, sat mostly silent. This is the same man who told CBS News, “If someone strays into a pepper ball, that’s on them. Don’t protest and don’t trespass.”
That arrogance didn’t fly with Judge Ellis.
She reminded him of his oath to defend the Constitution — not attack it. Then she hit him with orders that sent shockwaves through federal law enforcement:
 Wear a body camera.
 Report in person, every day, at 6 p.m.
 . Turn over every report and video of force used by agents — within 24 hours.
 Display visible identification on all federal agents.
“The camera is your friend,” Ellis told him. “Then it won’t just be your word.”
In other words: no more hiding behind the badge.
For years, Chicago has been a testing ground for federal crackdowns. But this time, the people pushed back — and the courts listened. Ellis didn’t just slap Bovino on the wrist; she put him on probation, in public, with the nation watching.
Her message was clear: federal power ends where people’s rights begin.
“They can’t get tear gassed for exercising their rights under the First Amendment,” Ellis said.
This is accountability — the kind we rarely see in a justice system tilted toward the enforcers, not the enforced.
Judge Sara Ellis just did what too few in power have had the courage to do:
She reminded the badge who it works for.
And if Greg Bovino wants to keep leading his “Midway Blitz,” he’ll have to do it on camera — and report to a judge every night like every other man on probation.
For once, in a city that knows too well what unchecked force looks like, the law finally pointed in the right direction. |
