A civilian lawyer says a man he believed to have been a federal agent assaulted him last weekend in Brookfield.
Robert Held, an attorney based in Chicago, told the Landmark he was filming the man from a public sidewalk on Dec. 27 while he was stopped at the Shell gas station at 31st Street and Maple Avenue when the man approached him.
“He put the gas hose down, and he started briskly walking towards me. When he got closer, he broke into a run, and I was stunned. He put his hands on me. He threw me to the ground and aggressively was on top of me, trying to grab my phone,” Held said. “I’m 68. I have an artificial hip. My strength and flexibility are not great, and I used all my might to hold onto my phone.”
Held said he shouted at the man to “calm down” and “deescalate” and heard car horns nearby before the man got off of him.
Held posted some of the footage of the incident in an Instagram Reel video on Dec. 28. In the video, he refers to the man as an agent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He later said he believed the man to be an employee of a federal immigration agency but did not know for certain if that was the case or have details about which agency he might work for.
Held said he believed the man’s conduct constituted felony battery due to his being over the age of 60 and on a public sidewalk when he was attacked. He said police told him they have access to footage from a public camera that may have captured the incident.
Brookfield Police Chief Michael Kuruvilla told the Landmark the case is under active investigation and that police have been in contact with Held. Due to the investigation, he said he could not share more details.
ICE did not respond to an email from the Landmark requesting comment on the incident and the man’s potential employment by the agency. The Landmark originally reached a spokesperson from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who said Held’s video “depicts mostly ICE officers,” though the video contains footage from other incidents unrelated to Held’s.
About a week after the assault, Held said he felt “more militant” compared to the state of shock he was in immediately after being pushed to the ground. He said he hopes to see charges brought against the man and wants to help “the prosecutors seek justice” to make a stand against the violence exhibited by federal agents in the name of immigration enforcement.
“I didn’t get hurt. I’m male. I have a relatively strong disposition. I’m an advocate for immigrants. I have self-confidence, and maybe I’m comfortable economically,” he said. “But, what about the millions of people that aren’t in my circumstance, that can’t stand up and that are being terrorized, traumatized, attacked and abused by these federal agencies? What about them?”
