Chicago pastor attacked by ICE agents joins lawsuit against Trump administration

Reverend David Black, a pastor from Chicago who was injured by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last month, has joined a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration.

Black, who leads the First Presbyterian Church in Chicago, participated in a protest outside of an ICE facility in Broadview, Ill. last month. Video shows Black being shot in the head and body with pepper ball projectiles, which contain chemicals designed to irritate the eyes and nose.

CW: protester being struck in the head by a pepper ball

Footage I took earlier of the moment Reverend David Black, a regular protester outside of the Broadview Detention Center, was shot in the head with a pepper ball by ICE agents on the roof of the facility.

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— Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart (@mskellymhayes.bsky.social) September 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM

Black told Religion News Service that he was praying for the agents to repent, and that he could hear them laughing as he fell to the ground.

“I extended my arms, palms outstretched toward the ICE officers, in a traditional Christian posture of prayer and blessing,” Black said. “Without any warning, and without any order or request that I and others disperse, I was suddenly fired upon by ICE officers. In rapid fire, I was hit seven times on my arms, face and torso with exploding pellets that contained some kind of chemical agent. It was clear to me that the officers were aiming for my head, which they struck twice.”

The Illinois branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the lawsuit on Monday morning on behalf of members of the clergy, individual protesters and media organizations. The ACLU argues the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights have been violated after their attempts to speak in opposition to the Trump administration’s policies were met with violence.

The named defendants in the suit include President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Attorney General Pam Bondi and several others in the Trump administration.

The protest at the Broadview facility is one of several instances of ICE using aggressive, violent and illegal behavior in the Chicago area, which Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) argues is needlessly escalating tensions even further.

ILLINOIS GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D): “They’re going into buildings like the one on South Shore, in which they took 130 people out of the building, many of whom are U.S. citizens. They zip-tied children, some of them half-naked, and put elderly people into U-Hauls, US citizens, for… pic.twitter.com/Tb1sMdiPat

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) October 7, 2025