Photojournalist tackled by federal officers at Illinois immigration protest

Freelance photojournalist Tom Hudson was knocked to the ground by a federal officer while covering anti-deportation protests at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 3, 2025.

The facility, where detainees are being held and processed ahead of deportation, has drawn escalating protests and federal response since early September, following the Department of Homeland Security’s launch of Operation Midway Blitz.

Hudson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he’s based in Virginia, but traveled to cover protests at the facility. He added that he wasn’t on assignment, but often files photos with Zuma Press or Getty Images.

On Oct. 3, both Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino were at the facility, and Hudson said the protest was like any other.

“Pretty normal protest stuff going on: people chanting, there was a prayer service going on with some local religious leaders, people handing out water, that kind of thing,” he told the Tracker. “Super peaceful.”

Illinois State Police, many of whom Hudson said were in full riot gear, were ensuring that the road was clear for ICE vehicles to pass.

“I was standing on the curb, and I turned and shifted to get a shot, basically, down the line of the protesters and the state police,” Hudson recounted. “I had one foot on the curb and one foot on the pavement, and one of the troopers started jabbing me, striking me in the ribs with the end of his baton.”

Hudson added that it was “more of an annoyance than anything.”

When federal officers later advanced out of the facility, Hudson said, the protesters were approximately 500 feet from the fence gates. Agents marched to meet the crowd, with Bovino in front. Hudson said he observed agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, among others.

Bovino then spoke with a couple of state police officers, and one of their SWAT members motioned for the others to start putting on their gas masks.

“Bovino told everybody, ‘You have to leave,’” Hudson said, “and within 30 seconds — not enough time for anybody to disperse even if they were going to — he made a motion to his crowd and said, ‘Go get them.’”

Hudson said he saw Bovino tackle a demonstrator and was attempting to photograph him when a CBP officer suddenly tackled him.

“I did not see it coming. Another agent came up and grabbed my arms,” he said. “I started yelling at him, ‘I’m press, I’m press, I’m press.’ And then they took their hands off and went and got somebody else.”

Hudson was uninjured, and his equipment only suffered some minor scrapes.

He added that he was clearly identifiable as a member of the press: “I was wearing a vest that said ‘PRESS’ on it. I had a helmet on that said ‘PRESS’ on it. I had my two big cameras. There was absolutely no question, there was no ambiguity, and they just did it anyway.”

ICE did not respond to a request for comment. In an Oct. 6 news release, DHS alleged that officers are facing “a nearly 1000% increase in assaults.”

“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks — though our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights,” it said.

Before working as a photojournalist, Hudson told the Tracker he was a critical care paramedic and a police officer.

“I spent more than two decades in the public safety sphere, and I was just completely aghast at what happened that day. It was 100% outside of any norm,” he said. “What I saw was quite literally an attack, that’s the only word that I can use for it.”