Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons on Monday called Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker "disgusting" for questioning the actions of federal officers after an armed woman was shot in Chicago over the weekend following a violent incident that involved ramming ICE vehicles.
Speaking with "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Lyons defended the ICE officers' use of force, telling Newsmax that elected officials who second-guess law enforcement in such situations are out of line. Pritzker told CNN it was hard to know the facts, accusing the Trump administration of "propaganda."
"It's just disgusting," Lyons said. "Any elected official that wants to question what law enforcement has to do, and they have to use deadly force in a situation … you can't ram a vehicle. You can't drag a law enforcement officer for hundreds of feet. You can't resist arrest. If you use that vehicle in a deadly force situation, then any law enforcement officer around the United States is going to use whatever force necessary to not only save their life, but to stop that act."
Lyons described the scene as extremely dangerous, saying Border Patrol and ICE officers were confronted with what amounted to a weaponized vehicle.
"Well, Rob, you know, not only did she have a semiautomatic weapon, but she had a 14,000-pound vehicle that she was using as a weapon first," Lyons said. "So 10 vehicles surrounded the Border Patrol team and aggressively crashed into them, forced them off the road. And then now they're boxed in. And at that point, we're in a deadly force situation."
No law enforcement officers were seriously injured in the incident. The woman, a U.S. citizen who was not identified, drove herself to the hospital, according to a DHS statement.
Lyons praised the agents on the scene, saying they acted within ICE policies and regulations and that they "went home at the end of the day."
"I'm extremely proud of the ICE officers that were out there that day. They acted within our policies and regulations," he said. "And I'm sorry if people don't like immigration law or the way we do it, but the men and women of ICE will protect themselves and our other DHS partners."
Lyons argued there is no justification for resisting law enforcement or using a vehicle as a weapon, and he pushed back on what he framed as political theater from officials who question split-second decisions made under life-threatening conditions.
"No one should be resisting law enforcement. No one should be ramming vehicles," Lyons said.
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