On Friday morning the Broadview ICE facility looked less like a government building and more like a dystopian crossover episode of Cops, The Purge and a Turning Point USA livestream. As dawn broke, unarmed demonstrators linked arms, sang, and held up signs. Within hours they were coughing through clouds of chemical irritant while helmeted federal agents played “Who Wants to Be a Riot Cop?” Critics say the only thing missing was Charlie Kirk's podcast playing from a VIP booth.
The protest — a regular event since “Operation Midway Blitz” ramped up immigration enforcement — started around 5 a.m. with chants and songs. It escalated when SUVs tried to push through the crowd. DHS says protesters were “rioters.” Protesters say they were “human beings.”
One woman was grabbed, hit with a less-lethal round, dragged inside, and re-emerged shoeless and disoriented, like Cinderella at Guantánamo. She barely had time to catch her breath before being surrounded again and led back into the facility. “They took someone, and that’s why I’m here,” another demonstrator gasped through tear-burned eyes. It’s not exactly the kind of footage conservative influencers retweets, but since it's against immigrants, they might make their next slideshow.
Illinois politicians showed up too: congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh says she was thrown by agents; Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton came before sunrise to denounce ICE; Evanston’s mayor and Chicago aldermen were on hand as well. Yet, in the conservative influencer world, critics say the chaos was spun as “heroic law enforcement” and “liberal tears.” The vibe on right-wing Twitter, they claim, was less “oh no, civil rights” and more “touchdown dance.”
Every time the Broadview gate opened the set went full Mad Max: SUVs inching forward, protesters linking arms, agents firing pepper balls and tear gas with the flair of a DJ dropping a beat. One protester hurled a canister back at the agents and was immediately tackled like a quarterback in the Super Bowl. Another blocked a vehicle and was sprayed. One van drove off with a flat tire, which DHS called “sabotage” and protesters called “karma.”
Even local police were blindsided. Broadview PD later admitted an officer was accidentally maced because ICE hadn’t warned them chemical weapons were about to be deployed, despite an agreement to do so. So much for “back the blue.”
Critics say this spectacle is exactly the content people like Charlie Kirk thrive on — not because they’re throwing gas themselves, but because outrage is the product they sell. Peaceful protest gets minimal clicks; scenes of chaos can be clipped, memed and monetised into an endless loop of “see, the left is violent” while ignoring who’s firing the weapons. As one activist quipped, “We’re basically unpaid extras in their propaganda reels.”
By late morning the crowd had thinned, but not the resolve. Some protesters sat on the curb with water running into their eyes, still chanting. “It’s overwhelming and scary,” said Meridian Eck, “but nothing compared to what’s happening in there.” That quote won’t lead on a Kirk podcast, but it sums up the asymmetry perfectly: real people with burning eyes versus a political industry that critics say treats them as disposable content.
As the smoke cleared, organizers vowed to return at 7 p.m. for round two. Whether or not Charlie Kirk supporters are actually tuning in, his critics argue the scene fits neatly into the outrage-industrial complex he helped build — a reality show that keeps renewing itself, no matter who gets gassed.
