Free Speech For People, a national nonpartisan legal advocacy organization, today submitted a request urging Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rineheart to open criminal investigations into the unlawful actions of federal agents operating in Lake County, Illinois.

On January 25, 2026, State’s Attorney Rinehart released a statement making it clear that if a federal operation led to a “loss of life” in Lake County, he would follow applicable state law and launch criminal investigations of the federal agents. He also wrote that the Trump Administration’s “automatic defense” of federal agents is “part of a broader plan to try to desensitize us to violence and to convince us we are powerless to hold federal officials accountable. They have failed to desensitize us, and they are legally wrong. There is no absolute immunity for federal officials who clearly break state law, there is no statute of limitations on criminal homicides, and no president can pardon anyone for state crimes.”

In the submission, Free Speech For People applauds State’s Attorney Rinehart, but urges him to commit to protecting Lake County residents from the illegal actions of federal agents regardless of whether those actions result in residents’ deaths.

The submission details a consistent pattern of criminal activity by federal agents across Lake County since September of 2025, including two unlawful detentions of Lake County residents and citizens, as part of the Trump Administration’s immigration operations. Free Speech For People’s letter alleges that these acts were part of a coordinated criminal conspiracy directed by President Donald Trump and senior administration officials, intended not to enforce federal law but to punish and terrorize immigrants and political opponents.

It also urges State’s Attorney Rinehart to take affirmative steps to collect evidence, especially from vulnerable communities that may not have reported the unlawful actions of federal agents, including by creating an email or online portal where citizens can submit abuses. In addition, it recommends that State’s Attorney Rinehart release guidance to local law enforcement to ensure that evidence in any future incidents is adequately catalogued and preserved.

“We applaud State’s Attorney Rinehart for confirming that there are mechanisms for legal accountability when federal agents commit crimes,” said Courtney Hostetler, Legal Director for Free Speech For People. “However, we urge him to not wait until someone is killed. People in his county have already been subject to violence by federal agents, and investigations into these incidents should begin now.”

The letter details two particularly egregious incidents where federal agents detained and threatened citizens who were either exercising their First Amendment rights or were merely bystanders to ICE operations. In one incident, Dariano Fajardo was pulled out of her car for “impeding” a federal investigation despite no evidence she was doing anything more than documenting ICE operations. And in the other, several agents pulled their guns on Alderman Juan Martinez for honking his horn in a traffic jam that the agents had caused.

The letter outlines numerous violations of Illinois criminal law, including assault, battery, mob action and disorderly conduct, as well as potential hate crimes and civil rights violations. It further contends that Supremacy Clause immunity does not protect federal agents who act outside lawful authority or engage in conduct they know to be unlawful.

“State prosecutors have both the power and the duty to prosecute federal agents who violate state criminal law,” said Ben Clements, Chairman and Senior Legal Advisor at Free Speech For People, and a former federal prosecutor. “That includes officials and agents who order illegal acts.”

Free Speech For People emphasizes that while federal prosecutors have been compromised by the administration’s own misconduct, state and local authorities retain independent jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes committed within their borders.

“As State’s Attorney Rinehart’s letter notes, the federal government has made it made it a policy of defending federal agents before any independent investigation can occur,” said Ben Horton, Counsel at Free Speech For People. “Under these circumstances, the states are the only avenue for criminal accountability when federal agents break the law.”

Click here to read the letter.