Chicago City Wire

A Lakeview area teen enrolled at DePaul University has been charged for “battery against a peace officer and misdemeanor mob action” for her actions during a violent protest in Grant Park on Aug. 15.

The Chicago Police Department said Elena Chamorro, 18, was part of a group that held a rally at 4 p.m. in Millennium Park and started marching to the Loop, where several of the participants are accused of assaulting police officers. Video of the incident shows members of Chamorro’s group fighting with police officers.

Chamorro was released the following day after posting $5,000 bail.

Elena Chamorro of Lakeview | Photo courtesy of the CPD

Police said video shows Chamorro grabbing a deputy after being warned against contact once, and then being arrested after grabbing the same deputy again. The teen’s attorney said she is an honor student studying film at DePaul. 

DePaul University did not respond to questions on whether Chamorro’s alleged behavior was sanctionable under the institution’s student code of conduct. It is unclear if the institution will discipline Chamorro for her alleged role in the violent protest. 

Chamorro’s Lakeview neighborhood on the city's North Side has also been plagued by riots and nearby businesses have been vandalized and looted. It is unclear if the teen had any involvement in those events. 

Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown said rioters in Chamorro’s group were using pepper spray on police officers. Two protestors and 17 police officers were reported injured in the  Aug. 15 melee.

The riot was unrelated to a peaceful protest that started on the South Side earlier in the day and ended without incident. Rioting and looting on weekends over the past month have been so pervasive the Chicago Police Department recently launched a video campaign aimed at unveiling the identities of those victimizing neighborhoods.

Several images captured at the scenes of those crimes are being circulated by the CPD. One of them recently resulted in the arrest of a looter who was accused of breaking into an ATM with a hammer.