Military Veteran Faces Federal Charges After Peaceful Protest
A 70-year-old US Air Force veteran is contemplating legal action against federal authorities after facing arrest and injury during an anti-ICE demonstration in Illinois. Dana Briggs had all charges against him dismissed, but not before experiencing what he describes as traumatic treatment during the incident.
Dana Briggs, a decorated military veteran, found himself at the centre of a legal battle after participating in protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Broadview, Illinois. The US Department of Justice initially charged him with felony assault on a federal officer, despite video evidence showing masked ICE agents advancing toward the elderly veteran and knocking him to the ground.
Court Dismisses Case After Reviewing Evidence
US Magistrate Judge Gabriel A Fuentes agreed to dismiss the case after examining body-worn camera footage from the federal agents involved. The court had previously allowed the government to keep this video from public view, but its contents ultimately led to the case's dismissal.
In court documents, the justice department had alleged that Briggs "made physical contact with an agent's arm while the agent attempted to extend the safety perimeter" around the ICE detention facility. However, the visual evidence told a different story, showing the veteran being overwhelmed by federal agents.
Andrew Boutros, the US attorney for the northern district of Illinois, moved to dismiss the case without providing an explanation for the decision. When questioned by the Guardian, assistant US attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick stated that the office "is constantly evaluating new facts and information relating to cases" arising from Operation Midway Blitz, which he described as the largest law enforcement surge in the Northern District of Illinois.
Veteran Shares Harrowing Experience of Arrest and Injury
Briggs recounted his experience to the Guardian, revealing that before being knocked over, he had been questioning the federal agents about their work. "How do you go home at night and explain to your community and family what you are doing to other people who look like you?" he recalled asking them.
Following his arrest, Briggs was initially detained at the ICE Broadview facility before being transported to Loyola University Medical Center. There, he was handcuffed to a hospital bed while receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the incident. He suffered cuts and bruises on both forearms and wrists from being knocked down and restrained with zip ties.
"I stood up for something I believe in and will continue to do so, until my last breath," Briggs told the Guardian, emphasising his commitment to peaceful protest despite the consequences he faced.
Pattern of Veteran Arrests Draws National Attention
Briggs's case represents one of eight identified by the Guardian where US military veterans have faced arrest and injury during confrontations with federal agents over Trump administration policies. His prosecution attracted national attention and condemnation from decorated military veterans serving in Congress.
In a similar case, Afghanistan war veteran Sean Charles Dunn was acquitted earlier this month after a jury in Washington DC found he did not commit assault when he threw a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent. Dunn had been recorded shouting "Why are you here? I don't want you in my city!" at officers, calling them "fascists" in a video that went viral.
Jose Vasquez, executive director of the veterans' advocacy group Common Defence, of which Briggs is a member, stated that the dismissal of charges against Briggs and Dunn's acquittal "should remind prosecutors and the public alike that dissent is not a crime."
"Dana, like so many veterans who continue to exercise their first amendment rights in the face of injustice, was exercising the same courage and moral conviction he once showed in uniform," Vasquez added.
Another disturbing incident occurred in Portland, where video evidence shows an agent grabbing Afghanistan war veteran Daryn Herzberg by the hair and slamming his face into the ground multiple times while saying: "You're not talking shit any more are you?" according to a Federal Tort Claims Act complaint filed by his attorney.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson claimed Herzberg, a former marine sergeant honorably discharged in 2012, "is well known for acts of violence outside the ICE facility" and had "used fake blood to falsify injuries," allegations his attorney strongly denies. Notably, Hertzberg has not been charged with any crime.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not respond to inquiries from the Guardian regarding these incidents involving military veterans.
