CHICAGO — Two pastors of Evanston churches were among 21 arrested on Nov. 14 outside of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Broadview processing facility. One said he was beaten, bruised and had his hands zip-tied so tightly they went numb. They have a Dec. 3 court date where they will face three misdemeanor charges.

Rev. Michael Woolf, of the Lake Street Church of Evanston, and Rev. Luke Harris-Ferree, of Grace Lutheran Church, were charged with obstruction, disorderly conduct and for walking on a highway, according to a news release from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Woolf told Pioneer Press that he will continue to protest for what he believes in.

“I’m willing to take that risk because of the gospel,” Woolf said. “For me, I have to act like it is Jesus who is locked up there.”

In a statement, the Cook County sheriff’s office said that around 50 protesters left a designated protest area outside of the processing center and assembled on a blocked-off road on Nov. 14. The bulk of arrestees face charges of obstruction, disorderly conduct and pedestrian walking on highway, per the sheriff’s office.

Broadview police said two of their officers were injured during the skirmish and transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood for treatment. The officers have been released, but are now sidelined due to their injuries. One Illinois State Police trooper and a Cook County sheriff’s deputy also reported injuries.

Woolf said while he is praying for the injured law enforcement officers, and that he doesn’t want for anyone to get hurt, he suspects that the officers might have been hurt while executing inappropriate crowd control tactics.

“I don’t know anybody who would say that was professional deployment,” Woolf said, when he saw officers deploy billy clubs at the scene.

In Woolf’s case, he said he was outside of the Broadview facility to pray for those who are in custody.

“We want the facility to be closed because we know that it’s torture,” Woolf said. Throughout federal immigration authorities’ Operation Midway Blitz, immigrant supporters have accused ICE of violating its own guidelines, which say the facility shouldn’t hold people for more than 12 hours.

The immediate area outside of the facility in Broadview has become a focal point for protests against the Trump administration’s Midway Blitz operation. Though the administration has repeatedly said it is detaining violent offenders who are the “worst of the worst,” an analysis of over 600 detainees showed less than 3% of them had a criminal record. None had any conviction for murder or rape, per previous reporting.

A Chicago Tribune investigation found that people have been held under custody at the facility for up to four days, despite a lack of beds, showers or access to private bathrooms.

Upon arrival at the Broadview facility, Woolf said he was immediately met with force from Broadview police officers, Cook County sheriffs and Illinois State Police officers.

“We were completely peacefully assembled,” he said. “I told them (local officers) that they abduct children, and that they always have a choice on whether they want to protect that or they want to find another way.”

What happened next happened in quick succession, Woolf said. He was readjusting a drawstring backpack, which contained a water bottle and a protein shake, on his back when a commanding officer told nearby agents, “he’s going,” and reached for his arm that was reaching to his backpack.

According to video footage found on social media, Woolf was slammed to the ground by four officers. Pressed against the ground, agents zip-tied his wrists so tight that his hands went numb, he said.

“They also choked me with my pectoral cross too,” Woolf said. “I don’t know of a more meaningful image and more meaningful metaphor, really, of what’s going on there.”

When he tried to get a Broadview officer to loosen the zip-tie, Woolf said the officer told him, “no one wants to hear you talk” and to “shut the **** up.”

Harris-Ferree declined to respond to a request for comment on his arrest and treatment.

Woolf said he has spoken with Harris-Ferree since Nov. 14, but declined to go into detail regarding what they spoke about.

When asked if he knew if Harris-Ferree was injured, Woolf replied, “I know that it’s impossible to go through what we went through and not have bruises all over your body.”

Woolf said his faith motivates him to return to Broadview. “People of faith and faith leaders have always been able to tease out the difference between what is moral and what is legal,” he said.

“There are many things that are legal that are immoral and wrong. Broadview is one thing that I suppose is legal somehow in this country but it is immoral and it is wrong at the same time.”

“I think faith leaders have an obligation to tease out the difference between the two, and sometimes that comes with risk… it’s a moral and spiritual emergency, and I have to act like Jesus is locked up in Broadview, and that means taking some risks,” Woolf said.

In Broadview on Monday, Mayor Katrina Thompson signed a declaration of civil emergency after the village and its elected officials were the subject of bomb and death threats, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“I will not allow threats of violence or intimidation to disrupt the essential function of our government, and I will not allow other elected officials, village hall staff or residents to be placed in harm’s way,” Thompson said in a prepared statement after the Nov. 14 altercation.

____

©2025 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.