On November 14, 2025, two pastors from Evanston—Rev. Michael Woolf of Lake Street Church and Rev. Luke Harris-Ferree of Grace Lutheran Church—were arrested outside the Broadview ICE facility for participating in a peaceful protest. They now face three misdemeanor charges: obstruction, disorderly conduct, and walking on a highway.

These pastors weren’t threatening public safety. They were exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest in defense of vulnerable immigrants detained at a facility with a long track record of inhumane conditions—no beds, no private bathrooms, and people held far beyond the 12-hour federal guideline. Rev. Woolf has said he was there to pray for the people locked inside.

Instead of being met with respect for their rights, Rev. Woolf and others were subjected to aggressive tactics. He was reportedly slammed to the ground by multiple officers and zip-tied so tightly that his hands went numb. Footage and eyewitness reports suggest these were peaceful demonstrators, not violent agitators. This kind of response—against clergy acting out of conscience—should alarm anyone who cares about civil liberties and human rights.

Freedom of assembly and protest is not just a constitutional right—it is the cornerstone of every major moral movement in American history. From the Civil Rights Movement to immigrant justice today, people of faith and conscience have always had to draw the line between what is legal and what is just.

We call on the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to immediately drop all charges against Rev. Woolf, Rev. Harris-Ferree, and all peaceful protesters arrested at Broadview on November 14. And we call for an independent investigation into the use of force by law enforcement during the arrests.

No one should be criminalized for standing up peacefully to injustice—especially not pastors acting out of deep moral conviction.

Photo: Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune