• Rev. David Black says he heard ICE agents laughing as they fired pepper balls from a rooftop during a September protest in Illinois
• Video captured the Presbyterian pastor being struck in the head while standing in prayer position outside the Broadview facility
• A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday limiting federal agents’ use of force against protesters and journalists

BROADVIEW, Ill. (TDR) — A Presbyterian pastor who was shot in the head with pepper balls by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a protest outside a Chicago-area detention facility last month said in his first television interview that he could hear officers laughing while they fired at him from a rooftop.

Rev. David Black, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the Sept. 19 incident at the Broadview ICE Processing Center was “deeply disturbing” and revealed how “disorganized” and “poorly supervised” the federal agents are. Video of the shooting went viral this week, showing Black standing with his arms outstretched in prayer when an agent on the building’s roof fired multiple pepper balls at him.

“We Could Hear Them Laughing”

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Black, who was wearing his clerical collar during the protest, said he was shot seven times on his arms, face and torso with exploding pellets containing chemical agents. He told CNN that agents struck his head twice and appeared to be aiming for it.

“We could hear them laughing as they were shooting us from the roof, and it was deeply disturbing,” Black said. The pastor insisted that protesters received no warning before agents opened fire and that he was standing in a traditional Christian posture of prayer with his palms outstretched.

DHS Defends Actions

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the ICE officer’s actions, claiming on social media that the viral video was “clipped” and didn’t show that “agitators were blocking an ICE vehicle from leaving the federal facility.” McLaughlin also accused Black of “flipping the bird” at her and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a recent visit to the facility.

Black denied those allegations as “categorically false,” saying he was “standing to the side in a gesture of prayer and praying verbally for the ICE officers and those detained inside.”

Federal Judge Issues Restraining Order

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On Thursday, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking federal agents in Illinois from using certain types of force against protesters and journalists. The 14-day order prohibits the use of pepper balls, tear gas, rubber bullets and flash grenades, and bars agents from physically shoving protesters to the ground unless they pose a threat.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the Chicago Headline Club and other plaintiffs who accused federal agents of violating First Amendment rights during protests at the Broadview facility.

“Indiscriminate and Vicious”

Black described what happened after he was shot. “After they shot me in my head and my face and multiple times in my torso, arms, and legs, I was shielded by the bodies of others who were there, who rushed in to support me,” he said. He said about 20 ICE officers then rushed out of the gate and began shoving peaceful protesters.

“I was drenched from the crown of my head to the socks in my shoes,” Black said of the chemical agents. “It was indiscriminate, and it was vicious.”

The pastor called the temporary restraining order “a victory that belongs to everyone who lives in the United States of America and particularly to the brave protesters and demonstrators who have been showing up.”

The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal officials as defendants.

Should federal agents face consequences for using force against clergy and protesters exercising their First Amendment rights?

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