Federal agent pointed pepper spray at a photojournalist, and Sun-Times photographer documented it
This week’s top photo comes from Visual Journalist Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere. Follow him on X, Bluesky and Instagram.
What makes this photo important?
It’s been nearly a month since many of the federal agents associated with Operation Midway Blitz left Chicago. But immigration enforcement operations continue, as we’re seeing confrontations that are similar to the high-profile ones we saw earlier. These interactions include threats to members of the press and the use of chemical weapons in residential neighborhoods without clear verbal warnings. This photo also shows that this isn’t happening just in Chicago, but is affecting communities even as far as Kane County.
How I got this picture
After receiving credible information federal immigration enforcement agents were attempting to arrest someone barricaded in a building and that there was a growing group of angry community members, I made my way to Elgin. This was the first real time I’ve covered this type of immigration enforcement action, so I made sure to have all of my protective equipment ready to go if things went sideways. On the ground, the situation was what you’d expect with armed agents occupying a sleepy residential block and dozens of angry people jeering and heckling them. The person that agents were trying to arrest was on the balcony of a building. Things grew tense when agents forced down the door of the apartment. Protesters increased their heckling, with some throwing bottles and snow at agents. As the agents were falling back to their vehicles, I followed along as one agent, who slowly walked backward and aimed his pepper spray canister at me. I instinctively raised my camera to my face and captured the moment.
Plus, 22 more great photos from Sun-Times photojournalists:
Residents watch as federal law enforcement officers leave an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Maple Lane in Elgin on Dec. 6.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Musician Michael McDermott performs for pre-trial detainees at Cook County Jail at 3015 S. California Ave. on Monday.
Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times
Pre-trial detainees at Cook County Jail watch as musician Michael McDermott performs on Monday.
Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times
Mayor Brandon Johnson presides Wednesday over a Chicago City Council meeting in which an alternate spending plan by opposition council members gained momentum.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Flanked by supporters, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) speaks with reporters Wednesday after a Chicago City Council meeting in which an alternate spending plan by opposition council members gained momentum.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
A brother pushes his young sister across the ice at the Midway Plaisance Rink in Hyde Park on the South Side on Sunday.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Students of Epiphany Catholic School and Good Shepherd Catholic School wait for mass to start after a procession to the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Little Village on the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego on Tuesday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Samantha Stamps gets emotional Monday during a press conference at the 7500 South Shore apartment complex on the South Side. The complex was raided by federal agents on Sept. 30 during Operation Midway Blitz, and tenants were being forced to vacate this week.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Mayor Brandon Johnson laughs with event organizers during the “Chicago Quarter Zip Link Up” outside Shawn Michelle’s Homemade Ice Cream in Bronzeville on Sunday. The organizing team included Corey Phillips, center, and Justin Vincent, right.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
High school students offload donated Christmas trees from the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw at Navy Pier on Dec. 6.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
A commuter boards a bus on West 26th Street in Little Village on Tuesday. The sidewalk at the bus stop is covered in snow.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Former Summit Police Chief John Kosmowski walks out of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Wednesday. He was found guilty on all counts in a bribery scheme related to a liquor license at a bar run by a politically connected drug dealer in the southwest suburbs.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Students and community members walk to the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Little Village during a procession in the neighborhood on the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego on Tuesday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Brody Sheldon, CEO of Music Box Films and co-owner of Music Box Theatre, sits in the lobby of the theater in Lake View.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Community members at Lake Street Church in Evanston leave flowers next to a manger that depicts baby Jesus wearing zip-ties around his hands during a prayer vigil Wednesday for those victimized during Operation Midway Blitz.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Construction crews shovel detritus in the courtyard of a vacant commercial building at 56 E. Superior St. in the Rush and Division neighborhood on Wednesday.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Jack Met with AJR performs at the Aragon Ballroom in Uptown on Tuesday.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Rhian Teasdale with Wet Leg performs at the Aragon Ballroom in Uptown on Tuesday.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Snow blankets Logan Square on Tuesday.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Residents review their property tax assessments to see if certain exemptions were applied to their tax bills during an emergency town hall meeting Monday to offer tax relief resources to West Side homeowners at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
At La Villita Community Church in Little Village, Gov. JB Pritzker signs a bill Tuesday to bar civil immigration arrests from being made in or near courthouses and give residents more leeway to sue federal agents over alleged civil rights violations.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Yolanda Rivera, left, the mother of Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera, and Rico Thompson, stepfather of Krystal Rivera, alongside family listen to comments from their attorneys during a press conference Thursday to announce a wrongful death lawsuit against former CPD officer Carlos Baker and the Chicago Police Department.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
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