FOX NEWS: Chicago Reporter William J. Kelly sues Mayor Lori Lightfoot

A Chicago reporter who filed a federal lawsuit against Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot for revoking his press credentials accused the city of trying to silence him after a series of contentious exchanges with the mayor's office where he repeatedly questioned her "failures in performance."

The suit, filed by journalist William J. Kelly in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in late August, alleges Lightfoot and Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown violated his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights, saying, "They have done this for the most cynical and contemptible reason that can be imagined, to prevent Lightfoot from being questioned about their failures in the performance of the public offices they currently occupy."

In an interview on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Wednesday, Kelly called the suit "a textbook First Amendment case."

"Unfortunately, the textbook is from Venezuela," he added.

The contributing reporter for the Daily Mail said he has used his platform to hold Lightfoot accountable for her "dismal performance" in office through honest reporting and pointed questions during press conferences. But with Lightfoot facing re-election and criticism mounting over her leadership, the mayor is doing everything in her power to keep him out of the room, he said.

"I believe that journalism is extremely important," Kelly told Tucker Carlson. "I’ve had a media credential in Chicago for over 10 years. Emmy award-winning. Print, radio, TV, but Mayor Lightfoot is the least transparent mayor in our city’s history, and sadly, for better or for worse, the reason my questions were so effective, is because I was asking the questions that real Chicagoans wanted to hear. But they were hurting her re-election campaign so she canceled by media credential."

The revocation of his credentials "has a chilling effect on all reporters," Kelly said.

"They see that I asked real questions, and got my credential revoked, canceled I guess would be a better word. I grew up in Chicago watching legendary reporters…chasing politicians up and down the street…and this is the tradition I want to uphold," he said. "This is the Chicago reporter tradition that Lightfoot wants to cancel."

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