Charges have been filed against Deirdre J. Kemp, 30, following a disturbing incident where she allegedly drove her vehicle through a crowd of anti-ICE protesters in downtown Chicago on June 10, resulting in one person injured. According to Chicago Sun-Times, Kemp was trying to navigate through the congestion during a large protest and march against President Donald Trump's immigration policies when police directed her to turn right, yet she turned left, plunging into the crowd while shouting obscenities.
The ensuing chaos saw an officer attempting to halt Kemp's vehicle by grasping the driver’s-side door handle but she reportedly accelerated away, as she was also carrying three children in her 2003 Kia Spectra, during these events Heather Blair, 66, sustained a broken arm after another officer lost balance while pursuing Kemp and collided with her. Chicago police had initially claimed that Blair was struck by the vehicle directly, as reported by the Sun-Times.
Kemp has been charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm and aggravated fleeing causing bodily injury. Moreover, she was driving on a suspended license and has received citations for failure to obey a police officer, and also driving an uninsured vehicle, as corroborated by CBS News Chicago.
Footage by CBS News Chicago caught Kemp, in a yellow tank top, spray paint in hand, confronting police just moments before the incident; shortly thereafter, their reporter Sabrina Franza was on live broadcast when screams erupted signaling the onset of the havoc, protesters scrambled to evade the careening vehicle, some attempting to stop the driver, in the midst of it all, they aided the injured Blair, "There was a sudden rush to help anyone who might have been injured," CBS News Chicago's live coverage depicted the aftermath. The chase of Kemp's car ended when her vehicle broke down on State Street in the South Loop, according to CBS News Chicago.
Following her surrender on Thursday, Kemp awaits court proceedings scheduled for June 26; her previous bond for a violent felony case in Will County remains a factor in her ongoing legal challenges, as reported by the Sun-Times. The serious nature of these charges, combined with the fact that children were in the vehicle at the time, adds complexity to the case while the community grapples with the ramifications of her actions amidst a politically charged protest.
