People take cover after federal agents disperse chemical sprays outside of an apartment building along Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal immigration agents deployed tear gas and pepper spray Saturday on a crowd that gathered to protest a prolonged arrest in a northwest Chicago suburb. The standoff began around 10 a.m. Saturday when about 15 agents showed up to arrest an unidentified man at an apartment building on the 1600 block of Maple Lane in Elgin. Elgin police said there had been a traffic crash that morning involving a federal agent and the man, who then fled to the building.
Federal agents tackle a protester after a faceoff outside an apartment building along Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. Community members and federal agents faced off for several hours after the agents chased a man and he barricaded himself on a second-floor balcony. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)A man who barricaded himself on a balcony after being chased by federal agents catches a bottle of water thrown to him by a neighbor along Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)A Federal agent faces off with a community members on Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. For five hours, federal agents surrounded an apartment building after chasing a man inside who they were trying to arrest causing crowds to gather in protest. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)Marco Soto, left, is led along by his friend Angel Martinez after federal agents dispersed chemical sprays outside of an apartment building on Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin.(Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)Federal agents stand outside of an apartment along the 1600 block of Maple Lane in Elgin where they were trying to arrest a man who barricaded himself on a second-floor balcony. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)Protesters yell at federal agents attempting to arrest a man who barricaded himself on a second-floor balcony in an apartment building along Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)A young boy looks out the window as federal agents faces off with a community members on Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. For five hours, federal agents surrounded an apartment building after chasing a man inside who they were trying to arrest causing crowds to gather in protest. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)A man gets his eyes washed out after federal agents disperse chemical sprays outside of an apartment building on Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)A man raises his arm as federal agents detain him on the balcony of a second floor apartment on Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. The man barricaded himself on the balcony for several hours after fleeing from the agents. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)Federal agents detain a man the called “Luis” from an apartment building on Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. The man barricaded himself on the balcony for more than five hours after fleeing from the agents. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
