Reports about protests happening in various ICE facilities across the U.S. have become quite the talk of the town, with residents in some states trying to stop them. One such chaotic scene unfolded in Illinois, where a viral video captured a Presbyterian pastor being struck by a pepper ball fired by ICE agents.
While the situations seemed unfortunate and out of order, it was now that Rev. David Black finally gave an insight into what and how things actually unfolded, to the point of him witnessing the agents laughing as they fired towards his head. While there continue to be a lot of arguments and counterarguments from both sides, the pastor’s recent claims now underline the gravity of the situation after the protests broke out in Illinois last month.
Rev. David Black, a Chicago native, shared chilling details of the alleged attack by ICE agents in a recent CNN interview. He said he could hear them laughing behind their masks as they fired round after round of pepper balls at demonstrators trying to block their actions. David mentioned, “We could hear them laughing as they were shooting us from the roof, and it was alarming. We got to witness a few things about these ICE agents operating in broad view, and really, it has shown us how disorganized they are and how poorly supervised and trained they are.”
Well, the particular video that recorded the moment when the pastor was attacked, it is pretty clearly visible how the pepper ball hits him on the head. As he collapses on the ground, a sea of people comes to his rescue soon after. With so many questions this one single video has raised regarding the way the ICE agents are trained to operate, the assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has vehemently defended all such chatter. Tricia McLaughlin, on the contrary, upheld the fact that the demonstrators had actually prevented an ICE vehicle from entering the facility and thus hampered operations.
In her statement to PEOPLE, she added, “Obstructing law enforcement puts officers, detainees, and the public at risk. If you are obstructing law enforcement, you can expect to be met with force.” In yet another separate comment on specifically the pastor’s video of getting attacked, she clapped back and wrote, “as an aside, this is the same ‘pastor’ who flipped @Sec_Noem and our team the bird when we were there last week.” In the wake of such defending allegations from the authorities, Rev. David Black had also put forth his own share of counterarguments, which dislodge the kind of picture homeland security is trying to paint in order to analyze the situation in Illinois.
He said, “No ICE vehicles were attempting to leave the facility. I was standing to the side in a gesture of prayer and praying verbally for the ICE officers and those detained inside. I find it interesting that this individual believes I flipped them the bird, because theologically, as I have been praying for all of these people. I’ve been hoping that the Holy Spirit will descend upon them and open their hearts and minds. To the extent that the Holy Spirit appears as a bird, perhaps there is spiritual truth to her claim.”
In his interview with CNN, David also gave a detailed account of his injury that he sustained, revealing how the shots fired hit him on his head and face, along with a few more rounds on his torso, arms, and legs. He credited the crowd who rushed to shield him, and a street medic who gave him immediate first aid and helped stabilize him after the attack.
