The night manager of Laugh Factory in Chicago’s Lake View East neighborhood was detained by federal agents Friday morning outside the comedy venue after attempting to intervene in an immigration operation, authorities said.
Around 9:20 a.m. Friday, Chicago police responded to a call of a battery in progress at West Belmont Avenue and North Broadway. Upon arrival, they “observed federal agents engaged in a physical altercation with two individuals,” police said.
Police noted a crowd had gathered in the area by the time they arrived at the scene, adding that they worked to “de-escalate and conduct crowd control to ensure all those who had gathered at the location remained safe.”
Laugh Factory: Chicago posted a video of the incident on Facebook Friday. The video shows a crowd gathering as masked agents in camouflage uniforms marked “POLICE” wrestle with two people as Chicago police officers stand nearby.
CPD said their officers did not make any arrests and left the scene once the area was cleared.
Will Kolic, who works on the block and knows the manager witnessed the incident. He spoke with NBC Chicago about what he saw.
Kolic said he saw cars pull up and grab a man who he said appeared Hispanic.
“Other people came and started screaming stop it,” he said.
Kolic said federal agents then “jumped out of their car” and grabbed the manager of the Laugh Factory while he was with his mother.
As seen in the video, the agents and the manager and his mother engaged in a physical altercation at the scene. It is unclear from the video who initiated the physical contact. At one point, the manager’s mother can be seen being forcibly held to the ground by federal agents.
The manager was detained after he “attempted to impede and obstruct federal officers,” according to a statement from a Border Patrol spokesperson. The statement alleges that the manager attempted to shut the door of the federal agents’ car on an agent’s leg.
“The individual was immediately detained and turned over to the FBI for investigation,” Border Patrol said.
It was not immediately known if the manager’s mother was also detained. Additional details on the man Kolic first saw detained were not immediately available.
“They didn’t do anything,” a person at the scene can be heard saying on video.
“Let us see your face,” another person at the scene said.
Others at the scene demanded the federal agents tell them why the detainment was happening and where the detained would be taken.
“Laugh Factory Night Manager Nate was detained by masked federal Agents outside the club. Email or dm us any information pertaining to this situation,” the caption of their post said.
A sign on the entrance to Laugh Factory says, “Private Area No Trespassing You Do Not Have Consent To Enter For Civil Immigration Enforcement Purposes.”
Laugh Factory: Chicago did not immediately respond to NBC Chicago’s request for comment.
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