Oh, ICE, you SCAMPS...laughing after shooting a minister in the head with a pepper ball? You're so NAUGHTY!

[Miles Archer]

Video Shows ICE Agent Shoot Protesting Minister In Head With Pepper Ball

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-government-shutdown-live-updates_n_68dd6e42e4b06c0a3a8c0f14/liveblog_68e7310de4b0b4458cb6f013

A video circulating on social media appears to show ICE agents shoot a minister in the head with a pepper ball. The Rev. David Black, who was protesting near an ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois in September, told Religionnews.com that after the incident "we could hear them laughing.”

Footage shared on Bluesky shows ICE agents standing above protesters on top of the facility holding their weapons. Seconds before Black is shot, he raises his hands and appears to speak directly to the agents. After the shot is fired, he falls to the ground as protesters surround him.

The ACLU, in a lawsuit filed on Monday, accused the federal government of sending forces to U.S. cities "in order to prevent the press, elected officials, religious leaders, and civilians engaged in peaceful protest from exercising their First Amendment rights."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that "agitators were blocking an ICE vehicle from leaving the federal facility."

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. MaddowBlog-Team Trump's clashes with the faith community go from bad to worse

The political world is overdue for a conversation about the severity of the conflicts between the Republican administration and the faith community.

We’re overdue for a public conversation about the Trump administration's dramatic conflicts with the faith community.

Pam Bondi recently claimed that Biden “abused and targeted Christians,” but that more accurately describes the status quo, not the recent past. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-08T19:57:15.812Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/team-trumps-clashes-faith-community-go-bad-worse-rcna236412

It served as a timely reminder that too often in GOP circles, religion is treated as something that must be celebrated, protected and respected — just so long as the faith community is telling the party what it wants to hear.....

More recently, however, the underlying issue took a dramatic turn. The Religion News Service reported this week on developments in Chicago, where a variety of faith leaders are opposed to the administration’s immigration agenda. The report specifically highlighted what transpired when the Rev. David Black, wearing a clerical collar, stood in front of an ICE facility, with empty arms raised, and invited armed agents to repent. From the RNS report:

When Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black added.

The same Religion News Service report noted that the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist pastor who leads United Church of Rogers Park in Chicago, has also protested at the local ICE facility, and she too said she has been shot multiple times with pepper bullets, “including while she was praying with her eyes closed and hands lifted, wearing a clerical collar.”.....

Six months later, as Christian leaders are actually abused by Trump administration officials, the political world is overdue for a conversation about the severity and frequency of the clashes between Team Trump and the faith community.