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Publishers and owners of Chicago’s Black media organizations have united to urge Mayor Brandon Johnson to keep his campaign promise by firing Chicago police officers affiliated with extremist groups, particularly the right-wing Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
Chicago’s Black Press, comprising local print, broadcast, and digital outlets, believes the recent surge in mass racist texts signals future targeting of Black communities, particularly in a city where the police department has a history of accusations involving misconduct, racial profiling, and heavy-handed tactics in Black neighborhoods.
With Donald Trump set to assume office in January, concerns are mounting that Black and minority communities may face intensified targeting from hate groups. In the hours after Trump’s election on November 5, Black individuals across U.S. colleges and workplaces received racist text messages, urging them to “pick cotton” at the “nearest plantation.”
The FBI has confirmed its awareness of these texts and said it is coordinating with the U.S. Department of Justice, encouraging recipients to report such incidents to local authorities. However, it remains unclear who orchestrated the mass texts, what motivated them, or how they obtained Black residents' contact information.
This week, owners and publishers of The Chicago Crusader, The Chicago Defender, The Chicago News Weekly, WVON 1690, N’DIGO Magazine, and TBT News sent a letter to Mayor Johnson urging him to dismiss eight police officers who remain on the force despite their known affiliations with the Oath Keepers, an extremist group involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Some of these officers have faced accusations of racist policing by community members.
The officers in question are Michael Nowacki, Anthony Keany, Alexander Kim, Alberto Retamozo, Bienvenido Acevedo, Dennis Mack, Matthew Bracken, and John Nicezyporuk. Following an investigation by the CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA), which concluded in the spring with minimal transparency, none of these officers were disciplined.
During his mayoral campaign, Johnson, whose victory was largely supported by Black voters in a heated runoff against Paul Vallas, promised to fire officers with ties to hate groups. However, he has yet to fulfill this pledge.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti-Defamation League, Aldermen Matthew Martin (47th), Chris Taliaferro (29th), and Reverend Ira Acree have joined calls for Johnson to terminate the officers. Last weekend, North Side community groups and activists amplified their demands, expressing distrust in the police department’s internal investigation.
“The OIG’s office has compared this scandal to a case from the 1960s when a CPD officer was dismissed for being a KKK member,” said Grace Patino of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, one of the event’s organizers. “Make no mistake—nothing about this situation is normal or should feel normal.”
In October, the civil rights group Color of Change and others sent a letter to the mayor, asserting that the CPD investigation “was a sham.” Johnson, however, has remained silent on the issue, prompting the Black Press to speak out.
In their letter, Chicago’s Black Press expressed deep concern about officers with ties to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys remaining active in the city’s police force. “With the divisive state of our country and the 2017 U.S. Justice Department investigation documenting a pattern of civil rights violations by Chicago officers against Black and minority residents, this city cannot afford officers affiliated with hate groups,” the letter stated. “And with the recent election of President-elect Donald Trump and the wave of racist texts sent to Blacks across the country, the urgency in Chicago is even greater.”
Last spring, Johnson and Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling resisted calls to discipline or dismiss the officers, despite a push from Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg to reopen the investigation. When Johnson and Snelling refused, Witzburg asked state regulators to bar the officers from the force after investigators uncovered their extremist ties.
The investigation into these eight officers began in October 2023 after WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project published reports on the misconduct records of police officers connected to anti-government groups, highlighting the department's apparent tolerance for extremism. In July, the Inspector General’s office reviewed the BIA investigation and found it “suffered from deficiencies materially affecting its outcome,” recommending a reopening of the case. Witzburg further called for a City Hall task force to address the problem.
The Inspector General’s office stated that police leadership could have cited the eight officers for breaching CPD’s code against actions that bring “discredit upon the department.” In its letter, the Black Press noted, “Since you took office, Chicago’s Black Press has watched as you resisted calls from the Inspector General, Black leaders, and other organizations urging you to do the right thing. We were disappointed and remained silent when you and your police superintendent closed the investigation without disciplining the eight officers. We fully support Witzburg’s demand that the investigation be reopened.”
Last year, Johnson faced criticism for his response to calls to fire Chicago police officer Robert Bakker. Bakker was initially suspended for three days after CPD internal investigators uncovered inconsistencies in his statements regarding his association with the Proud Boys, an openly racist group with extremist views. Bakker admitted to participating in Proud Boys group chats, which the police department verified. Under pressure from civil rights organizations, Bakker received a 120-day suspension and returned to duty in February 2023.
The Proud Boys previously pledged their support to Trump. In 2020, Trump sparked outrage by failing to denounce the Proud Boys during a presidential debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden.