A CBS Chicago reporter has claimed that an ICE agent fired a pepper ball at her truck outside a detention facility, prompting a criminal investigation by local police. Asal Rezaei reported the incident in Broadview, Illinois, on Sunday morning, saying there were no protests and no crowd activity at the time. In a police report, she said she was driving toward the facility’s 25th Avenue entrance with her window down when a masked agent inside the fence shot a pepper ball that struck her driver’s side panel. The impact released chemical agents into her vehicle. Rezaei said the powder burned her face and caused her to vomit after she exited her truck. “At this moment it’s not really clear why that officer took a shot at me. My car has been here several times, although I did not identify myself verbally as a member of the press,” she said in her coverage of the incident. Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills confirmed the investigation, calling it “an allegedly unprovoked attack.” Rezaei declined medical attention. A DHS spokesperson denied that the journalist was attacked. “Absolutely not. No member of the media at CBS or any other outlet was ‘attacked.’ For their safety, we remind members of the media and journalists to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots,” they told the Beast.
