Federal Agent Pleads Guilty to Battery Against Protester

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent admitted guilt on Wednesday to a battery misdemeanor after an incident involving a protester. The protester had been filming the agent with his phone. Agent Adam Saracco, 41, offered his plea during a court session in Maywood and received a sentence of one year under supervision.

Police body camera footage captured Saracco speaking with Brookfield police before charges were leveled against him for allegedly throwing a man to the ground. This incident occurred as the agent was refueling his vehicle on December 27, 2025. The alleged victim claimed publicly that he was thrown to the ground during the altercation.

Saracco appears to be the first immigration agent facing charges in Cook County related to actions involving protesters during the operation named Midway Blitz. Notably, he was not on duty at the time of this incident.

During his brief court appearance, Saracco attended in person and chose not to deliver a statement. Community advocates and residents have been urging Cook County State’s Attorney, Eileen O’Neill Burke, to charge agents for misconduct observed during a recent immigration enforcement operation. Burke responded that her office can file charges for on-duty incidents only under specific conditions and requires law enforcement referrals.

Earlier this week, ten individuals, including Marimar Martinez, who suffered a shooting by a Border Patrol agent the previous year, filed police reports aiming to initiate local investigations.

In Saracco’s specific case, Brookfield Police initiated charges following a report of an altercation at a gas station involving Saracco and Robert Held, a local attorney known for his protests at an immigration processing center in Broadview. Held accused Saracco of throwing him to the ground after following him from the facility.

“I don’t want anybody sticking their camera in my face. I don’t know what he’s trying to do with this,” Saracco stated at the location, captured on police body camera footage obtained via a public records request. “I tried to grab his phone,” he added.

Police officers consulted with Saracco, Held, and witnesses on-site. Held relayed his experience to an officer, stating, “He got very angry that I was filming him. He ran up to me and grabbed me and threw me on the ground … and he tried to grab the phone out of my hand.”

A witness recounted seeing the incident while she was stopped at a traffic light. She intervened by sounding her horn and yelled “get off him!”

Initially, Brookfield police attempted to press for a felony charge. However, police reports released by the Brookfield Police Department, accessible through the Tribune, indicated that the state’s attorney’s office classified the matter suitable for misdemeanor processing. Held had previously requested the elevation of charges by Burke’s office. However, prosecutors explained that they “evaluate evidence in a consistent manner to ensure everyone is treated equally and held to the same legal standards” and must prove all elements of the alleged crime.