Federal immigration authorities have announced they will pursue federal charges against those responsible for the violent assault of two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Bolingbrook after local police failed to make any arrests.
According to an official statement from the Bolingbrook Police Department, federal prosecutors will handle the case after two female suspects allegedly attacked ICE agents while they attempted to make an arrest in a parking lot on Sunday, October 19.
“ICE will be pursuing their own charges at the federal level,” confirmed Lt. Pat Kinsella of the Bolingbrook Police Department. No local charges have been filed, and as of Tuesday, no arrests have been made.
Police said the agents were struck multiple times in the head by “two unknown females” while attempting to detain a 46-year-old man. The suspects and the man fled into a nearby residence. Despite a clear description and the presence of federal victims, Bolingbrook Police declined to take any suspects into custody, and the agents declined medical treatment.
That decision — to walk away from what is a clear felony assault under 18 U.S.C. § 111 — immediately raised alarm across Illinois and within federal law enforcement circles. Sources close to the case now tell Illinois Review that a broader internal investigation is underway to determine who issued the “stand-down” order that prevented officers from detaining the suspects on scene.
That investigation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter, will include the Bolingbrook Police Chief, Village leadership, and local command staff. “They’re trying to determine if that decision came from within the department or higher up in Village government,” one source said. “Someone told those officers not to make arrests, and that order didn’t come from the agents.”
While federal prosecutors now move forward with the case, the Village of Bolingbrook’s public conduct has drawn sharp criticism after hundreds of residents posted violent or celebratory comments about the assault on the Village’s own Facebook page — without moderation or condemnation from officials.
Screenshots obtained by Illinois Review show a flood of posts mocking and glorifying the violence. “Serves those bstrds right,” one commenter wrote. Another said, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. No sympathy for ICE at all.” Others used emojis and laughing reactions to celebrate the assault on federal officers.
Even more alarming — not one of those comments was removed by page administrators, nor did any Village official issue a statement condemning the calls for violence.
That silence was noticed by residents and by law enforcement officers who viewed the lack of response as both cowardly and dangerous. For hours, the Village’s official Facebook page served as an unmoderated public forum for violent rhetoric and open hostility toward federal agents.
Village Trustee Michael Carpanzano, who oversees and helps manage multiple Bolingbrook-affiliated Facebook pages, was confronted by residents demanding accountability. According to screenshots and eyewitness accounts, Carpanzano eventually replied to one commenter but ignored dozens of others who celebrated or endorsed violence.
Despite hundreds of comments openly celebrating or encouraging violence against federal officers, Bolingbrook officials failed to remove or report the threats that flooded multiple Village-managed social media pages. Screenshots reviewed by Illinois Review show users mocking ICE agents as “kidnappers,” praising their attackers, and posting laughing emojis and applause under news of a federal assault — all left unmoderated for days. These pages, administered by Trustee Michael Carpanzano and other Village staff, are official government communications platforms under federal and state law. By allowing explicit or implied threats against federal officers to remain visible, officials may have violated 18 U.S.C. § 115, which criminalizes threats or retaliation against federal employees, and 18 U.S.C. § 4 (Misprision of a Felony), which makes it a crime for anyone with knowledge of a federal offense to conceal it or fail to report it. Additionally, any deletion or alteration of these records after federal authorities began their inquiry could constitute obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1519. The Village’s failure to act — despite having full administrative control and a history of aggressive moderation toward routine criticism — reveals a troubling double standard and raises the question of whether Bolingbrook’s leadership knowingly permitted criminal threats to persist on its official pages.
The selective response sparked further outrage, with many residents accusing Bolingbrook leadership of tolerating anti-law enforcement hate speech on their official channels while taking no action against it. The Village, which tightly controls its social media presence, has long been criticized for deleting comments that question local leadership — yet in this case, it left violent comments against law enforcement untouched.
This is not the first time Bolingbrook officials have been accused of favoritism and political interference in law enforcement matters.
As Illinois Review reported earlier this year, the Bolingbrook Police Department refused to arrest Jackie Traynere, a local woman accused of striking a child on a bicycle and fleeing the scene in 2024. Despite witness accounts and clear evidence, no arrest was made, and the department later rejected multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking bodycam footage and reports from that case.
The Illinois Review’s FOIA requests were denied on the grounds of an “ongoing investigation” that, to this day, has produced no charges. That same pattern of non-enforcement and stonewalling now appears to be repeating — this time involving federal agents.
The implications of Bolingbrook’s inaction are serious. Federal law enforcement sources have confirmed to Illinois Review that ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Department of Justice are reviewing the incident — not just to prosecute the assailants, but also to determine whether local authorities obstructed a federal operation or failed to assist federal officers under Title 18.
“The refusal to make arrests after a federal assault isn’t just a local issue,” one federal law enforcement official said on background. “It’s a national security issue. If a municipality decides it won’t protect federal officers, that’s a serious breach of interagency cooperation.”
Meanwhile, public confidence in Bolingbrook’s police leadership continues to erode. Residents have grown increasingly frustrated with what they see as a department unwilling to enforce the law consistently. From the unprosecuted child hit-and-run to the mishandled assault on ICE agents, the perception is clear: Bolingbrook PD only acts when politically convenient.
The Bolingbrook Police Department’s public statement this week did little to calm those concerns. Rather than announcing arrests, the department merely confirmed ICE’s intent to “pursue their own charges at the federal level.” The message seemed to shift responsibility away from the Village — a move critics say underscores a deeper problem.
“Bolingbrook officials appear more afraid of bad headlines than of criminals,” one longtime resident told Illinois Review. “It’s one thing to make a mistake. It’s another to stand by while people cheer violence against law enforcement.”
The situation now places Bolingbrook’s mayor and police leadership under increasing scrutiny. Multiple federal and state officials are expected to review communications, emails, and command directives from the day of the incident — including whether any Village authority discouraged arrests or sought to minimize the event for political reasons.
Illinois Review has already filed two formal FOIA requests seeking all police reports, bodycam footage, internal communications, dispatch logs, and Village correspondence related to the October 19 assault, as well as any subsequent discussions between the Village and federal agencies.
The Village has not yet acknowledged receipt of those requests.
For now, ICE is moving forward — even as Bolingbrook stands silent. Federal authorities have made it clear: those who assault federal officers will be prosecuted, whether local officials cooperate or not. But for residents of Bolingbrook, one question remains — who told the police to stand down?
