Category: Chicago
‘Serial puncher’ accused of knocking out mother of 11 in Chicago over summer arrested yet again — this time while behind bars
Blaze News in September reported about a violent and rampant repeat offender who was accused of randomly punching and knocking out a mother of 11 on a Chicago street in broad daylight.
The victim — 56-year-old Kathleen Miles — didn’t know what hit her as she walked to a train with a co-worker along West Washington Avenue on Aug. 19.
‘This guy is strong, and scary, and he knows what he’s doing.’
Miles recalled to WLS-TV at the time that the culprit “hit me with such force” that the punch knocked her out and left her with several broken facial bones and a concussion.
Police told WLS that Miles was attacked by 32-year-old William Livingston. Police told Blaze News that Livingston was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery/public place, a felony count of aggravated battery/great bodily harm, and a misdemeanor count of reckless conduct/bodily harm.
The video report below not only shows how badly Miles was injured but also includes surveillance video of the devastating punch.
WGN-TV reported that Livingston was arrested the same day of the attack. Cook County Jail records indicate Livingston was booked Aug. 21, and he has remained in jail as of Friday with no bond.
Livingston has been described by WMAQ-TV as a “so-called serial puncher.” A WBBM-TV investigation found he had been arrested at least 20 times dating back to 2012 “but keeps being released from custody.”
Well, Livingston on Wednesday was arrested yet again — and believe it or not, while he was behind bars in Cook County Jail, Chicago police told Blaze News.
Police said officers along with the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Livingston after he was identified as the offender who struck two victims — a 40-year-old female and a 29-year-old female — in the 2700 block of North Clark Street on June 12. Police said he was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery/public place.
One of the victims, Anne Kurze, identified Livingston from a police lineup as her attacker, WBBM-TV reported: “He stood about this far from me, and punched me, and then kept walking north up the street.”
After Livingston was formally charged in connection with the June attacks, Kurze told WBBM that “any day he is off the street is a good day. It does stir up a lot of big feelings, a lot of free-floating anxiety, fear — that feeling of being so scared back in June.”
WBBM also said Kurze suffered a neck injury and concussion as a result of the punch: “It could have been so much worse; this guy is strong, and scary, and he knows what he’s doing.”
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office added to WBBM that Livingston is being directly indicted in the case, meaning that officials are taking the evidence straight to a grand jury.
WLS at the time of the attack against Miles said a records search produced 13 mugshots of Livingston going back to 2012 — and that a large number of those arrests were for aggravated assault and battery of both women and police officers.
“Like, what is enough?” Miles asked WLS. “You know, what does someone have to do? Where someone, where he’s going to be, where they’re going to be held accountable.”
Here’s a brief rundown of Livingston’s violence over the last eight years, according to WLS:
In 2017, he was accused of randomly attacking two women months apart. Both cases were dropped.
In 2022, Livingston was sentenced to five years in prison after prosecutors said he punched and attempted to rob four women within 20 minutes in the Loop.
In 2023, while on parole, Livingston was arrested for hitting a woman in the face on North Michigan Avenue.
And in 2024, Livingston was sentenced to 100 days in prison after he punched a 15-year-old girl, also on North Michigan Avenue.
Police said Livingston was arrested at 12:26 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2022, after being identified as the individual who struck and attempted to take personal property from multiple female victims within minutes of each other. Police said Livingston was charged with four felony counts of aggravated battery/public place, two felony counts of attempted robbery, and one misdemeanor count of battery/make physical contact.
Cami Blechschmidt, a DePaul University student, described to WGN the random attacks against her and three other women that day.
“I felt a hand in my pocket, turned my head like that, and there was a man directly in front of me, and he punched me directly in the face,” Blechschmidt recounted to WGN in 2022. “We made eye contact, and like, he just had pure hate in his eyes. Just anger, pure anger.”
Shortly after the attack against her, Miles told WLS that if Livingston “had been held accountable for his actions, then I wouldn’t be sitting here with injuries.”
Following Livingston’s arrest earlier this week, Miles told WMAQ that she hopes Livingston now will be prevented from carrying out future attacks — and indeed she added to the station that the trauma of the August attack against her still lingers: “I struggle with it every day; I struggle with just fear of being hurt.”
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Anti-ICE mob turns hostile, breaching barriers outside detention facility — several officers injured
An anti-immigration enforcement protest outside an ICE facility in Chicago resulted in multiple officer injuries and nearly a dozen arrests as some attempted to breach security barriers, according to local reports.
Leftist protesters have been regularly gathering outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, since the Trump administration launched its immigration crackdown, Operation Midway Blitz.
‘Womp womp, cry all you want. These criminal illegal aliens aren’t getting released.’
On Friday, activists once again demonstrated outside the facility, protesting against ICE’s enforcement efforts. Local reports indicated that this particular demonstration was more tense and volatile than those in recent weeks.
Local law enforcement officers worked to keep the road leading to the facility clear, confining protesters to designated areas. However, when some activists became violent and attempted to force their way into the street, officers began making arrests.
Videos captured by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager showed a line of Cook County sheriff’s deputies attempting to keep protesters off the road. Several skirmishes between officers and protesters broke out, resulting in multiple detainments.
Photo by Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images
“Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” the crowd chanted.
Twenty-one protesters were arrested and four officers were injured, WLS-TV reported on Friday morning. Of those injured, two were police officers, one a state trooper, and the other a Cook County sheriff’s deputy.
The local news outlet stated that Friday’s protest was the largest one in recent weeks, noting that counter-protesters were also present.
“I have repeatedly pleaded to protesters to raise their voices, not their fists. They have chosen their fists. These out-of-towners have chosen to brutalize police officers who have been protecting their free speech and protecting them against assaults by ICE agents. We will see them in court,” Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson stated.
RELATED: ‘He’s not that smart’: Homan lampoons Chicago mayor for pleading with UN to intervene against ICE
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Border czar Tom Homan reacted to the Broadview protest.
“I was watching the videos before I came out here. When they put hands on law enforcement officers, they’re getting arrested and going to jail,” Homan told White House reporters on Friday. “You have a right to protest, but don’t cross the line.”
The crowd was estimated to be roughly 200-300 protesters.
The Department of Homeland Security posted about the protest on X, writing, “Womp womp, cry all you want. These criminal illegal aliens aren’t getting released.”
“Like clockwork, violent rioters have arrived at the Broadview ICE facility to demand the release of some of the worst human beings on planet earth,” the DHS continued. “Get a job you imbecilic morons.”
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DHS blasts ‘ACTIVIST’ Biden judge’s order to cut loose hundreds of illegal aliens in Chicago, pause deportations
Despite the ongoing obstructionism by Chicago’s deeply unpopular mayor, Brandon Johnson (D), and other open-borders activists, federal immigration agents continue to risk life and limb with the aim of unburdening the crime-ridden sanctuary city of some of the roughly 150,000 illegal aliens who have sapped its resources, strained its systems, and endangered its people.
‘An ACTIVIST JUDGE is putting the lives of Americans directly at risk.’
A Biden judge decided on Wednesday to undo some of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s hard work, ordering the Trump administration to free hundreds of the illegal aliens recently apprehended in the Chicago area, including some of those captured during the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Midway Blitz.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Blaze News in a statement. “At every turn, activist judges, sanctuary politicians, and violent rioters have actively tried to prevent our law enforcement officers from arresting and removing the worst of the worst.”
“Now an ACTIVIST JUDGE is putting the lives of Americans directly at risk by ordering 615 illegal aliens be released into the community,” added McLaughlin.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings, a Biden appointee, ruled last month that ICE had violated a 2022 consent decree settlement that barred federal immigration agents from conducting warrantless arrests unless they have cause to suspect an individual is both an illegal alien and a flight risk.
The settlement, which was the result of a lawsuit filed by the open-borders advocacy organization National Immigrant Justice Center and the ACLU of Illinois, was set to expire on May 12, 2025. However, the NIJC filed a motion to continue enforcing the settlement earlier this year after ICE made a series of warrantless illegal alien arrests.
RELATED: Federal judge wildly oversteps her bounds with Border Patrol commander in Chicago
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Cummings, who previously claimed that NIJC’s pending motion kept the settlement alive, decided on Oct. 7 to extend the consent decree until Feb. 2, 2026, and ordered ICE to apply it to all agents nationwide.
On Wednesday, Cummings went even farther to appease the open-borders activists, ordering ICE to free 13 illegal aliens by Friday and to release another 615 illegal aliens on bond into a monitoring program by Nov. 21, unless the Trump administration appeals and/or demonstrates that the arrests were in keeping with the consent decree.
Lawyers for the government are considering an appeal, indicating that at least 12 of the 615 illegal aliens arrested in Chicago between June and early October are considered high flight risks, reported Axios.
The activist judge also ordered the Trump administration to pause deportation and voluntary departure procedures for all those illegal aliens who are pending release and to provide additional information concerning all arrests that have taken place since his October ruling.
Michelle Garcia, deputy legal director at the ACLU of Illinois, suggested that by committing to enforcing the consent decree, Cummings has set the stage for “even more of the hundreds of people illegally arrested and detained during Operation Midway Blitz to be released.”
Mark Fleming, associate director of litigation at NIJC, also celebrated Cummings’ apparent judicial activism, stating, “We are grateful that Judge Cummings sees the urgency of this moment and has ordered the Trump administration to allow hundreds to leave the inhumane detention centers where they are being unlawfully held and to have a chance at the due process our laws require.”
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‘He’s not that smart’: Homan lampoons Chicago mayor for pleading with UN to intervene against ICE
Brandon Johnson, Chicago’s Democratic mayor whose disapproval rating is over 60%, joined Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and other American leftists in complaining to foreign bureaucrats on Friday about the Trump administration’s faithful enforcement of federal immigration law.
After detailing some of the ways that his “sanctuary city” has worked to undermine federal law enforcement initiatives, Johnson stressed to members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, “We cannot do this alone.”
The ‘United Nations is not going to tell President Trump what to do.’
“That is why I call on this council to hold the federal government of the United States to the same standards of accountability you apply elsewhere in the world,” said Johnson, whose city has seen at least 368 homicides already this year. “No country should be above international law. Human rights are universal or they are meaningless.”
When asked about Johnson’s request that foreigners meddle in American politics, White House border czar Tom Homan told “The Big Weekend Show” that it “just proves he’s not that smart.”
RELATED: Trump celebrates historic crime drop in hostile sanctuary city after federal ‘blitz’: DHS
Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images
“Asking the United Nations to, you know, interfere with ICE enforcing U.S. law is like asking an arsonist how to stop a fire,” said Homan. “The [International Organization for Migration], part of the U.N., helped fund the mass migration during the Biden administration’s four years, spending millions upon millions of dollars helping that … international migration coming to the United States.”
Homan underscored that the “United Nations is not going to tell President Trump what to do. President Trump was put into office on the promise of making this country safe again, on the promise of having the historic deportation operation — that’s exactly what America’s getting.”
‘We live with the consequences of that moral failure every day.’
The border czar noted that in addition to making Americans safer by giving the boot to criminal noncitizens and securing the border, the Trump administration’s clear messaging to would-be invaders that they’re not welcome has also saved the lives of thousands of migrants who might have joined the multitudes who previously died trying to reach America.
In their campaign to protect the people of Chicago from the illegal aliens Johnson is apparently keen to harbor, ICE has caught numerous dangerous criminal noncitizens.
For instance, two days before Johnson’s appeal to the U.N., ICE officers captured Alan Eduardo Garcia, an illegal alien from Mexico whose rap sheet includes arrests and convictions for felony strangulation, domestic battery, disorderly conduct, battery causing bodily injury, aggravated battery against a handicapped or pregnant woman, and unlawful use of a firearm, the agency claimed.
Among the other apparently dangerous foreigners ICE has captured in recent weeks was an illegal alien from Somalia who has convictions for multiple domestic assaults, rape, and multiple DUIs; a convicted murderer from Mexico; and multiple members of the terrorist gang Tren de Aragua.
Johnson suggested that the Trump administration’s refusal to let the U.N. police its actions amounts to a “moral failure,” adding that “we live with the consequences of that moral failure every day.”
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Border Patrol agents dodge bullets and bricks from leftist rioters in sanctuary city: DHS
Leftist activists in Chicago engaged in a series of violent attacks against federal agents who were conducting immigration enforcement operations over the weekend, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in a neighborhood of Little Village, a “hostile crowd” allegedly boxed Border Patrol agents into a street and alleyway.
‘This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction.’
An individual driving a black Jeep Wrangler fired multiple rounds at the agents while they were apprehending a suspect, the DHS reported. The shooter fled the scene.
Some in the crowd reportedly hurled objects, including bricks, at the officers’ vehicles.
The DHS credited the Chicago Police Department for helping agents evacuate the area.
As agents left the scene, another driver allegedly attempted to ram into the agents’ convoy, but the attack was thwarted when federal officials deployed a controlled tire deflation device.
RELATED: Masked anti-ICE agitators are in for a rude awakening as new DHS policy goes into effect
Image source: Department of Homeland Security
The DHS explained that the convoy proceeded to an FBI facility, where agents encountered two additional drivers who tried to “impede operations.” When agents issued a warning, one of the drivers allegedly attempted to ram the convoy. That driver was arrested.
“Border Patrol reached the FBI facility when rioters attempted to breach security there. Chicago Police responded to help secure the perimeter,” the DHS stated.
Border Patrol agents left the FBI facility but again encountered a group of protesters who were attempting to obstruct traffic by lying in the street. Agents deployed crowd-control measures after the activists began throwing objects, the DHS said.
Once the road was cleared, agents proceeded to a Sam’s Club parking lot where they were allegedly “stalked and followed” by protesters. Another driver allegedly rammed a federal vehicle. Officials arrested three individuals for assault.
A fourth vehicle ramming occurred when agents attempted to leave the grocery store parking lot. The suspect driving the vehicle fled the scene and remains at large.
While no Border Patrol agents were harmed, photographs shared by the DHS show damage to two federal vehicles.
The series of attacks resulted in the arrest of eight U.S. citizens and one illegal alien.
Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
The DHS blamed the incidents on “sanctuary politicians and the media.”
“A criminal illegal alien from Mexico has been arrested in relation to Saturday’s shooting targeting Border Patrol agents in Chicago. The suspect has previously been convicted for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon/vehicle, felony possession of a weapon, and illegal entry,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement provided to Blaze News. “He is currently marked as a violator of the Laken Riley Act, pending charges related to assaulting officers.”
“This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction,” she continued. “Over the past two months, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and obstruction targeting federal law enforcement during operations. These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement.”
The Latin Kings allegedly issued a “shoot on sight” order targeting federal agents, NewsNation reported. It is currently unclear whether Saturday’s shooting is tied to the street gang.
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Chicago violence: Almost 20 shot — 3 fatally — over weekend, police say
Nearly 20 people were shot — three of them fatally — in Chicago over the weekend, police told WBBM-TV.
The station said the shooting victims’ ages range from 18 to 70.
A woman of an unknown age was found unresponsive in an alley behind the 11000 block of South Mackinaw Avenue at 10:18 a.m., WBBM said. She had been shot twice in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, the station said.
Police reported only one shooting on Friday. It took place just before 6:30 p.m. in the 5500 block of South Lafayette Avenue where police said an unknown person shot a 43-year-old woman on the street multiple times, WBBM noted. The woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, the station said.
The shootings ramped up on Saturday, as police said a dozen people were hit by gunfire — two of them fatally, the station said.
In one of the fatal shootings, police told WBBM that individuals in a red Dodge Charger were traveling westbound in the 4400 block of West Augusta Boulevard just before 5:30 a.m. when they were struck by gunfire, after which the vehicle crashed. The driver, a 37-year-old man, was shot in the back while his 29-year-old male passenger was shot multiple times in the head, the station said. Both victims were taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital where the 29-year-old was in critical condition — but the 37-year-old, later identified as Mauro Josemartin, was pronounced dead, WBBM said.
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
In the other fatal shooting, a 23-year-old man was in a vehicle in the 4100 block of West Jackson Boulevard at 3:10 p.m. when he was hit in the chest by gunfire, the station said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County where he was pronounced dead, WBBM noted.
On Sunday, six people were shot, one of them fatally, the station said. In the fatal shooting, a woman of an unknown age was found unresponsive in an alley behind the 11000 block of South Mackinaw Avenue at 10:18 a.m., WBBM said. She had been shot twice in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, the station said.
Among the nonfatal shootings, four unknown gunmen approached a 43-year-old man in the 1500 block of East 75th Street just before 4 p.m. Saturday and opened fire at him, WBBM said. The man was hit in the ankle area and taken to a hospital in good condition, the station said.
On Sunday, two men — ages 18 and 19 — were in a business in the 100 block of East 51st Street just before 6 a.m. when a man came up and shot them both, WBBM said. The 18-year-old was shot in the upper right leg and transported himself to Provident Hospital of Cook County, the station said, adding that the 19-year-old was shot in the left calf and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center; both were in fair condition. Police told WBBM that the shooter was wearing a gray jumpsuit and fled east on foot.
Also on Sunday, police told the station that multiple people exited a dark-colored SUV outside a business in the 800 block of East 79th Street around 10:45 a.m. and shot two men, ages 66 and 70. The 66-year-old was hit in the right wrist, chest, and groin, police told WBBM, adding that the 70-year-old was hit once in the buttocks. Both victims were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where the 66-year-old was reported in critical condition, and the 70-year-old was in fair condition.
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