From the HERE City National Desk
CHICAGO, Ill. — Douglas DePodesta, the former special agent in charge of the FBI’s Chicago field office, filed a federal lawsuit Monday claiming he was pushed out of his job and wrongly blamed after a set of immigration protest prosecutions fell apart.
The suit names U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros of the Northern District of Illinois, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche. DePodesta, who ran the 1,100-person office for close to two years before resigning this summer, contends in the complaint that the resignation was forced. He is asking to be reinstated and is seeking back pay and damages, arguing his First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated.
The complaint centers on the Broadview Six, a group of demonstrators arrested in 2025 outside an immigration detention site in suburban Broadview during the federal crackdown known as Operation Midway Blitz. All six had their federal charges dismissed earlier this year, once U.S. District Judge April Perry required prosecutors to turn over what was said before the grand jury.
According to the lawsuit, Boutros pressed DePodesta to open investigations into people who opposed the administration and pushed for felony charges when line prosecutors leaned toward lesser charges or none. The suit claims Boutros then blamed DePodesta for the failed case in reports to Justice Department leaders and that Patel backed his removal. The filing states that DePodesta had no role in deciding the charges.
None of the claims has been tested in court. Boutros has previously denied that politics influenced charging decisions in his office.
Hours after the suit was filed, Perry directed Boutros and three assistants from his office to appear Nov. 16 and give sworn testimony about the Broadview Six prosecution. The former defendants have asked the court to appoint a special counsel to look into possible prosecutor misconduct, and one prosecutor on the case resigned in September, saying in her resignation letter that she had been made a scapegoat.
Section: More Washington DC politics news
Filed under: Washington DC Politics News
