ICE agents tear-gassed Elgin, Illinois crowd; DHS account blaming police for failing to protect agents contradicted by body-camera footage
On December 6, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed tear gas and pepper spray into a crowd of protesters and bystanders during an hours-long standoff in Elgin, Illinois, that began when agents tried to detain a man who fled into and barricaded himself inside an apartment. The Department of Homeland Security said Elgin police failed to protect agents from a crowd throwing "rocks and bottles," but Elgin police said a review of officers' body-camera footage found no evidence agents were attacked and did show agents throwing pepper gas into the crowd. Kane County's state's attorney opened an investigation into two resulting criminal complaints against ICE agents.