Federal Judge Spends Most Of 233 Pages Calling Out DHS, ICE, CBP, Border Patrol For Their Lies

Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has already made a name for himself during Trump's second administration. He began making this name by engaging in an unapproved sweep of the area he controlled in California as Trump was still waiting to be sworn in.

Then he was sent to Chicago by a vengeful Trump who wanted to see as many people in the state harmed for no other reason than he didn't like the politicians running the state and the city. While Trump was prevented from flooding Chicago streets with National Guard troops, Commander Bovino did everything he could to turn federal forces into full-time assailants. And by everything," I mean things from lying about being attacked (to justify force deployments) to personally violating court orders limiting the use of force by federal officers.

Judge Sara Ellis has been handling the lawsuit brought against federal agencies since their invasion of the Windy City. (And she's already seen one of her orders blocked by the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court.) What should be a final ruling (pending review by the appellate court, which has also already placed a stay on this order) has been handed down by Judge Ellis. And that order makes it clear the federal government has done nothing but lie since being forced to answer questions in court.

Here's a couple of sentences from ABC News coverage of Ellis's ruling that do a great job of summarizing the judge's 233-page(!) decision:

While Defendants may argue that the Court identifies only minor inconsistencies, every minor inconsistency adds up, and at some point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to believe almost anything that Defendants represent," Judge Sarah Ellis wrote about the administration in a scathing 233-page ruling.

And scathing it is. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick does a good job hitting a lot of the low points in this long Bluesky thread. We'll do more of that here, because the amount of lying done here is staggering in both its expansiveness and its implication: that the Trump administration (in all forms) apparently believes no system of checks and balances can hold it back.

Here's how little the government cared about the lawsuit brought against it, much less the people it harmed on its way to being sued. From the opinion [PDF]:

Plaintiffs submitted a mountain of evidence, providing the Court with over eighty declarations, numerous videos and articles, and other evidence. Defendants did not rebut anything that Plaintiffs set forth in their declarations or testimony, even with BWC footage.

That's just galling. Most defendants will at least try to defend themselves from accusations. The government - taking the form of multiple federal agencies participating in Trump's Midway Blitz" operation - couldn't even be bothered to do that. Instead, it just kept on being violent, secure in the knowledge that courts can't actually keep them from violating rights. They can, at best, only slow them down a bit.

What the government did offer in its defense undercut its claims immediately.

Presumably, these portions of the videos would be Defendants' best evidence to demonstrate that agents acted in line with the Constitution, federal laws, and the agencies' own policies on use of force when engaging with protesters, the press, and religious practitioners. But a review of them shows the opposite-supporting Plaintiffs' claims and undermining all of Defendants' claims that their actions toward protesters, the press, and religious practitioners have been, as Bovino has stated, more than exemplary."

Here comes the litany:

For example, Defendants directed the Court to two videos of agents outside the Broadview facility the evening of September 19, 2025. In those videos, agents stand behind a fence preparing to leave the facility's gates and disperse what Defendants described as an unruly mob. The scene appears quiet as the gate opens, revealing a line of protesters standing in the street holding signs.

Almost immediately and without warning, agents lob flashbang grenades, tear gas, and pepper balls at the protesters, stating, fuck yea!", as they do so, and the crowd scatters. This video disproves Defendants' contentions that protesters were the ones shooting off fireworks, refusing orders, and acting violently so as to justify the agents' use of force.

More:

On September 26, 2025, video from an agent's BWC shows a line of agents standing at least thirty feet away from protesters outside the Broadview facility on Harvard Street. Despite this distance, the agents start yelling move back, move back" to the protesters and then shoot pepper balls and tear gas at them without any apparent justification.

Still more:

Defendants also highlighted an October 3, 2025 video, presumably to show that agents driving the streets faced constant danger from cars ramming them on purpose. But instead of leaving this impression, the video, which almost entirely consists of a view of the back seat of the car and some dialogue about how the agent's body cam is on" and he is still recording," suggests that the agent drove erratically and brake-checked other motorists in an attempt to force accidents that agents could then use as justifications for deploying force.

This is a 233-page deconstruction of every lie and false assertion made by the government. There's a lot to see here and it should be seen because every lie told by the government should mean something to anyone who still cares about democracy.

But we're only nine pages in and already the judge is telling it like it is, ensuring that no one who doesn't have the patience to go through the entire opinion will come away with the wrong impression after skimming through the first dozen pages or so:

These are not the only inconsistencies and incredible representations in the record. While Defendants may argue that the Court identifies only minor inconsistencies, every minor inconsistency adds up, and at some point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to believe almost anything that Defendants represent.

Pretty much everyone called to testify on behalf of the government lied to some degree in hopes of salvaging some truly insane (and literally incredible) claims:

[W]hen questioned about these instances in his deposition, [ICE Field Office Director] Hott acknowledged that he did not even know if it was a person that caused the damage to the downspout, much less a protester, and that he did not have proof that the agent's beard was actually ripped off his face.

[...]

Bovino's and Hewson's explanations about individuals in maroon hoodies being associated with the Latin Kings and threats strains credulity.

More on Bovino:

Turning to Bovino, the Court specifically finds his testimony not credible. Bovino appeared evasive over the three days of his deposition, either providing cute" responses to Plaintiffs' counsel's questions or outright lying.

[...]

Most tellingly, Bovino admitted in his deposition that he lied multiple times about the events that occurred in Little Village that prompted him to throw tear gas at protesters.

The entire opinion makes it clear federal officers routinely engaged in unprovoked violence and then lied about their actions in court. They were ostensibly led by Gregory Bovino, who provided an example for them to follow by personally engaging in plenty of unprovoked violence himself and who, when called to testify, acted like the whole thing was beneath him and was a suitable target for his open mockery.

Bovino has since been sent elsewhere, not because Trump wants to stop him from generating further negative press or court precedent, but because Trump wants him to engage in the same sort of unconstitutional cruelty for as long as possible before litigation ensues.

Bovino is the perfect front man for Trump's bigoted attacks on cities and states he doesn't like. Like Trump himself, Bovino wraps himself in the flag. And just like Trump, the only reason he does is so he can wipe his ass with it, staining everything it's supposed to stand for.