Building owner OK'd Trump administration's raid of Chicago apartment complex, court records show [View all]
Building owner OKd Trump administrations raid of Chicago apartment complex, court records show
Chicago Sun-Times
Federal agents carried out a military-style raid on a South Shore apartment complex last fall with the permission of the buildings owner and manager, according to new court filings that appear to confirm residents suspicions and corroborate key allegations driving a state investigation.
The Trump administration has claimed the squalid building was a magnet for criminals and Venezuelan gang members, but the court records filed Tuesday indicate the harrowing raid was actually based on intelligence that illegal aliens were unlawfully occupying apartments in the building.
Arrest reports for two of the 37 people detained in the overnight raid at 7500 S. South Shore Drive were included in a motion filed Tuesday in a federal court case accusing immigration agents of making unlawful arrests.
The made-for-TV sacking of the building on Sept. 30 became an early flashpoint of Operation Midway Blitz, the monthslong deportation campaign targeting the Chicago area last year.
Federal agents descended on the 130-unit complex from helicopters and used flashbang grenades to burst through doors. Residents reported seeing men, women and children pulled from apartments and zip-tied, some of them naked.
Some U.S. citizens reported being detained for hours. But one man, who helped neighbors hide, was left undisturbed by the feds, prompting questions about what the heavily-armed agents knew about the building and its residents prior to the raid.
The new arrest reports show the buildings owner, Trinity Flood, and property manager, Corey Oliver, gave verbal and written consent to search the building. Agents only checked units not legally rented or leased at the time, according to the reports.
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