Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Panicking Trump Lashes Out in Court over Blocked Invasion

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

The Trump Administration isn’t just content with starving Americans they now want an appeals court to give them permission to beat them too, looking for an order to let Trump’s shock forces in Chi...cago to hit peaceful first amendment protestors including members of the press, clergy, veterans and others with their cars, fire rubber bullets and tear gas at them, tackle them and beat them. Michael Popok reports on Judge Ellis’s injunction and the emergency stay motion filed by the Trump Administration, initially denied by the 7th Circuit, pending further briefing. Subscribe:  @LegalAFMTN  Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Boarding for flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes. Ugh, what? Sounds like Ojo time. Play Ojo? Great idea. Feel the fun with all the latest slots in live casino games and with no wagering requirements. What you win is yours to keep groovy. Hey, I won! Boarding will begin when passenger fisher is done celebrating.
Starting point is 00:00:22 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned by your gambling or that if someone close, you call 1866-3-3-1-2-60 or visit comixonterio.ca. A federal judge has to tell the Trump administration and its federal forces not to hit Americans with a car who are First Amendment protesting, has to issue an order to stop them from tackling them and using unnecessary, unreasonable force against them as First Amendment protesters, has to enter an order for them to comply with the United States Constitution. I mean, the Trump administration appears not to be just content with starving Americans and, cutting off their food payments, but they want to beat them as well with court permission. We got a new ruling coming out of Judge Ellis in Chicago, but with the Trump administration
Starting point is 00:01:11 running another couple of days ago into a Seventh Circuit court asking to have Judge Ellis's order, a simple order not to abuse journalists, clergymen, veterans, and other First Amendment protesters on the streets of Chicago, they ran into court to say, no, we want effectively to abuse Americans, to use unnecessary, an unreasonable force. They hit them with our cars. I'm Michael Popock. I'm going to catch you up right here on Legal AF and on the Midas Touch Network about what is happening with an order that was issued by Judge Ellis, an appeal that was taken by the Trump
Starting point is 00:01:44 administration, and a Seventh Circuit, which I'm going to have to try to evaluate because they once blocked this judge back on Halloween about something that was related into the case. but I'm not sure that will make them rule for the Trump administration this time around. And I'll catch you up because it's a fast-moving story. We're going to get a new development by Thursday, and I want you to know what's happening right now. Thanks for being in here. Hit the free subscribe button. Come over to Legal A.F, the YouTube channel, do the exact same thing.
Starting point is 00:02:16 Let's start with Judge Ellis, Sarah Ellis. Two different cases in Chicago. One involving a judge, April Perry, who issued an order to stop the National Guard. This is not a National Guard update. The National Guard, that issue, went to the Seventh Circuit. They agreed with Judge Perry, went over to the Supreme Court, and it's being briefed there right now. This is Judge Ellis, who was dealing with the attack
Starting point is 00:02:42 by federal forces of Donald Trump's on domestic soil who are just doing First Amendment protest. And the fact that a federal judge has to write in an order don't use non-lethal weapons, don't use rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper balls, gang tackle, hit people with your cars. That's just not a natural compliance with the Constitution? It's just mind-boggling. So everything I'm going to read to you, I'm going to show you some video as well.
Starting point is 00:03:15 Everything I'm going to read to you about the preliminary order, this is what the Trump administration wants permission to do. There's no other way to interpret their emergency stay application. to the Seventh Circuit. Let's start with the preliminary injunction. I posted it on Legal A.F. Substack for you. It is hereby ordered that defendants, who she refers to, as the federal agents are enjoined in this district from. And as I talk about each thing,
Starting point is 00:03:43 will roll a clip from the streets of Chicago so that you can see what I'm talking about, to illustrate what I'm talking about. Interactions with journalists, they are barred from, they are enjoined, from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, threatening or using physical force against any person whom they know or reasonably should know as a journalist,
Starting point is 00:04:05 unless the federal agents have probable cause to believe that the individual has committed a crime by failing other than failing to disperse. They may order the journalist to change location, but they can't abuse them. Let's show a clip here of a producer being thrown to the ground and identifying herself as a producer for a local television. Let's roll that clip.
Starting point is 00:04:26 What's your name? What's your name? Debbie Brackman. I worked for WGN. Let them know. I got you. Yep. Debbie Browning?
Starting point is 00:04:34 Brockman. Sir, what's your name? In the back, what's your name? Say that one more time. What's your name? Can number? See? How do you?
Starting point is 00:04:48 They also can't issue crowd dispersal orders, meaning a lawful command given by a full. given by a federal agent to leave an area that requires any class member that means the people that are protesting to leave a public place that they lawfully have a right to be unless there's exigent emergency circumstances. Now here's the list that is really appalling that she had to tell the government not to do and for which they are now seeking permission. Using riot control weapons, kinetic impact projectiles, it's about as bad as it sounds. Compressed air launchers will show some video. Less lethal specialty impact chemical munitions against the person who's protesting. Using
Starting point is 00:05:32 riot control weapons, deploying gas canisters of various types, firing compressed air launchers. How about this one? Striking any class member with a vehicle. She has to tell them not to hit people with their cars. Using hands-on physical force, such as pulling or shoving to the ground, tackling or bodding, slamming any class member. We've got video of that. Using chokeholds, carotid restraints, neck restraints, or any other restraint technique that applies prolonged pressure to the neck, seizing or arresting a member, class member who is not resisting a lawful crowd dispersal order.
Starting point is 00:06:14 She also orders that they wear identification numbers on their uniforms, even if they are undercover, that they use body-worn cameras, that they wear cameras so that she can monitor. Now, that was entered on the 6th of November, and an eight-page order I posted on Legal A.F. Substack. That led to the Trump administration, going to the Seventh Circuit to try to convince them to allow them to do all those things. An emergency motion for stay pending appeal. Now, the primary argument here is that is twofold. One, they're arguing that the journalists and the clergymen and the veterans that brought their case don't have standing. They can't bring the case.
Starting point is 00:06:56 They don't have the right injury to even be in court so the injunction is invalid. Then they say that the judge has unilaterally exceeded her authority as an adjudicator, as a judge, and she's infringing on the powers of the executive branch. Now, where they're getting that from is about a week. week ago, she ordered that Greg Bovino, who ended up being found to have lied to her in court as the chief patrol agent for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, that he report on the use of force each day. The Seventh Circuit didn't like that. I'm going to give you a clip about Bovino in a minute. Didn't like that and said that she had exceeded her authority. It put the,
Starting point is 00:07:46 because, according to the Seventh Circuit from October 31st, it put the court in the position of an inquisitor rather than that of a neutral adjudicator of the party's adversarial presentations. It sets the courts up as a supervisor of Bovino's activities and intruding into decisions of the executive branch. So they issued the mandamus then.
Starting point is 00:08:10 Does that mean they're going to side with the Trump administration now? And not so sure about that. Let's talk about Bovino for a minute. Vivino lied in her courtroom. He said he was hit with a rock, and that's why he fired tear gas, and yet she found that to be untrue. Here's a clip of his video deposition testimony that she found to be perjurious, a lie. Let's play the clip. No, all uses of force have been more than exemplary. I see. So they have been actually, what would be the word? More than exemplary.
Starting point is 00:08:44 Is the use of force that is shown in the video and in these photographs in terms of the striking of the pepper balls, is that exemplary? I won't make a decision on a hypothetical situation, a situation that either I'm not involved in, nor do I have any direct knowledge of. I don't know. How about better than exemplary? Is that a better than exemplary use of force? I'm going to comment on what that use of force is or anything else. I was not there. Next question. As the commander of the agents on the ground in Operation Midway Blitz, can you look me in the eye and acknowledge that the use of force applied against Reverend Black
Starting point is 00:09:36 that is depicted in the video and in these photographs is unacceptable and interpretable, and inappropriate and should not have happened. Can you tell me that? Objective form. I can tell you that I don't know what the use of force was here, and I can't make a judgment either way because I don't know. And here's the video of him throwing the canister. Let's play that clip.
Starting point is 00:10:07 We're sentenced to, terrorizers, terrorists, trafficers, Get the fuck out. Where is my people? So I think she had every right to supervise, Povino, don't you? Seventh Circuit got the motion and said, not so fast, Trump administration. We want full, not going to block the preliminary injunction just yet, which means it's still applicable, which means the Trump administration could violate it,
Starting point is 00:10:55 and it's probably violating it as we record before the ink is dry on this video. They want full briefing by Thursday, this Thursday, at which time they will either hold an oral argument and or issue their decision, likely a decision, sometime over the weekend. So to stay in touch, so you know what's happening, come over to LegalAF, the YouTube channel. We're about to crash through the 1 million subscriber barrier. That makes us the top law and politics dedicated YouTube channel out there with your help and gives us the street cred we need to continue to do the reporting, the commentary, get the interviews, the playlists,
Starting point is 00:11:33 the contributors that you have come to rely upon. So check it out. See if you're a subscriber. not hit the free subscribe button. Come over to LegalAF Substack where we post all of these filings so you can read them for yourself as well. And think about becoming a paid member. That's what pays the bills and keeps Legal AF, the 40 videos that I do a week and all the other contributions. That's what keeps it rolling along. It's about $7 a month. And I promise you, we'll give you the content. You'll get the return on your investment. So until my next report, I'm Michael
Starting point is 00:12:05 Popock. Can't get your fill of Legal A.F. Me neither. That's why we formed the legal A.F. Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or an oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it. Morning A.F. What else? All the other contributors from legal A.F are there as well. We've got some new reporting. We got interviews.
Starting point is 00:12:31 We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Where? Legal A.F. on substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.