Masked Homeland Security agents arrest man outside McHenry County courthouse

A man was taken into custody in the parking lot of the McHenry County courthouse Wednesday by agents wearing masks and Homeland Security vests who witnesses said smashed the window of the man’s car before detaining him.

The man had apparently just appeared in a courtroom for a hearing in a criminal case against him.

Video and photos provided to the Northwest Herald appeared to show the man being taken out of his vehicle in the parking lot at the courthouse in Woodstock.

The man believed to be the target of the federal agents is facing charges in McHenry County of possession of stolen or fraudulently obtained checks and forgery, according to an indictment.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office issued a news release later in the day that said about 1 p.m., they “received an inquiry that there was suspected U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the parking lot of the McHenry County courthouse. Upon receiving this information, the sheriff’s office was able to confirm there was outside law enforcement activity in the parking lot of the courthouse.”

The sheriff’s office “was not involved, was not informed of this activity in advance, and does not have further information on the situation,” according to the release. “Under the Illinois TRUST Act, all Illinois law enforcement is prohibited from assisting, supporting or participating in the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws.”

Kellie Kleitsch, a criminal defense attorney, said she was leaving the courthouse about 10:45 a.m. when she “first heard a commotion – shouting ‘open the door, open the door’ very loudly.”

“I turned, and I had been watching this on the news. I knew what I was looking at immediately,” Kleitsch said. “All of a sudden, I heard the glass shatter and saw the group of ICE agents … and I saw them pull the gentleman from the vehicle.”

She said the whole thing was over in about three minutes, and then the agents drove off in three separate vehicles that did not appear to be marked.

Kleitsch said she could hear the woman who was with the detained man “screaming, ‘They took him. They took him.’”

Kleitsch said she walked over to “make sure she was OK, and she had a cut on her hand from the broken (driver’s window) glass.”

She took the woman, who said she was the man’s fiancée, into the courthouse and got her a bandage.

Kleitsch said the woman told her that the agents said they had a warrant for her fiancé, “and when he didn’t get out of the car, they broke the driver’s side window.”

“She was hysterical,” Kleitsch said. “It was awful.”

The city of Woodstock also issued a news release, citing the Illinois TRUST Act and noting that the local police department “does not detain individuals based solely on immigration status. Officers are, however, authorized to enforce state and local laws equally, regardless of a person’s immigration status.”

A call to the man’s criminal defense attorney was not immediately returned.