Abuses documentedProsecution of protected speechunder Freedom of speech, assembly, and associationExcessive force by law enforcementunder Accountable use of state forceActorsU.S. Department of JusticeAndrew Boutros (U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Illinois)Gregory Bovino (Border Patrol Commander-at-Large)Homeland Security Investigations (agent who filed the affidavit)On October 3, 2025, during a protest outside the Border Patrol's Broadview, Illinois immigration facility — the same day Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited to rally agents to "go hard" on protesters — Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino and other agents took protester Cole Sheridan, 27, to the ground. A Homeland Security Investigations agent then accused Sheridan of shoving Bovino, causing a groin injury serious enough that Bovino reportedly took two weeks of leave. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, led by Andrew Boutros, charged Sheridan with assaulting and impeding a federal officer based solely on that agent's affidavit; Bovino wore no body camera, and the available video did not support the assault claim. At an October hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather K. McShain found no probable cause for the assault allegation, saying "there is only the evidence of the hearsay statement of Bovino," and trimmed it from the charge. Four weeks after the incident, a friend of Sheridan's spotted footage from an Oct. 31 news report showing him pushed to the ground with no altercation with Bovino visible. Prosecutors dropped the remaining impeding charge the next business day, November 3. Bovino's account in Sheridan's case fits a broader pattern: U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis separately found that Bovino admitted lying about being hit by a rock before he tear-gassed a Chicago neighborhood, and he has denied using force in other incidents that video contradicted. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said its agents "show incredible restraint and prudence" in their use of force, and Boutros's office said it is "constantly evaluating new facts" in cases from Operation Midway Blitz. Sheridan said the case cost him four days of work and a month "fretting over whether I was going to prison." Updates 2026-09-04 — Unsealed grand jury records: panel sought Bovino's testimony, never indicted [4] Newly unsealed federal court records showed a grand jury heard more than an hour of testimony on October 30, 2025 about the alleged assault, from a Homeland Security Investigations case agent and a deputy chief, and asked to hear directly from Bovino before deciding whether to indict. No indictment was ever returned; prosecutors dropped the case after obtaining cell phone video showing the incident from an angle not previously available. Sheridan said the footage "demonstrates that, not only did I have no kind of altercation with Bovino, I wasn't even in front of him." Why we recorded thisThe First Amendment protects the right to protest, and prosecutors are supposed to bring charges based on evidence, not a single official's unverified word. Border Patrol agents took a protester to the ground, and a commander who was among those agents then accused the protester of assaulting him; prosecutors charged him on that account alone — no body camera, and no video supporting the claim — until a judge found no probable cause and the case collapsed after video surfaced. This archive records the prosecution because building a criminal charge on an accuser's unverified word, against someone documented being thrown down rather than the aggressor, weaponizes the justice system against the right to protest. SourcesFeds Drop Case Against Man Accused of Injuring Greg Bovino's Groin — Talking Points Memoinvestigativeaccessed September 24, 2026Judge's unusual criticism in dropped immigration case is latest strange twist for US attorney's office — Chicago Tribuneinvestigativeaccessed September 24, 2026'His word means nothing': Dismissed case reveals dishonesty of Border Patrol commander, protester says — Chicago Sun-Timesprimaryaccessed September 24, 2026Once-secret records show grand jurors sought Bovino testimony, more evidence in doomed Midway Blitz cases — Chicago Sun-Timesprimaryaccessed September 25, 2026 Receive the daily digest by email One email each morning with every entry filed the day before. Free. No tracking, no ads. Unsubscribe anytime.