A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent pleaded guilty Wednesday to an off-duty attack late last year at a gas station in west suburban Brookfield.
Adam Saracco, 41, was sentenced to a year of court supervision on a single misdemeanor count of battery during a brief hearing before Cook County Circuit Judge Owens J. Shelby.
Saracco was charged earlier this year after attacking attorney and activist Robert Held on Dec. 27. Held followed Saracco from the ICE processing facility in Broadview and filmed him as he stopped at a gas station in the 9200 block of East 31st Street in Brookfield. Held said Saracco eventually approached him and pushed him to the ground.
“I’m gratified that there is some accountability,” Held told the Sun-Times. “But as a country we have a long way to go.”
Held pushed for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to upgrade Saracco’s case to a felony matter, but prosecutors refused.
Held argued that Saracco should face a felony charge because the alleged attack occurred on a public sidewalk and Held is over 60. But prosecutors said a felony charge would require them to prove Saracco knew Held was over 60 and noted they rarely pursue aggravated battery charges based solely on the location of an alleged attack.
Saracco’s attorney couldn’t be reached. Neither could ICE.
Saracco’s conviction comes amid continued calls to hold federal agents accountable for their actions during Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration’s deportation campaign in the Chicago area last fall. On Monday, residents marched into the Chicago Police Department’s Area 3 headquarters in North Center to report alleged crimes involving immigration agents.
Cook County Circuit Judge Erica Reddick rejected a petition to appoint a special prosecutor to probe for criminal misconduct and potentially prosecute federal agents. The state’s attorney’s office has maintained that law enforcement agencies must investigate alleged crimes and present cases to prosecutors for charging.
No federal agents have been charged with an on-duty crime connected to Midway Blitz.