A 21-year-old man from Matteson, Willie Mathews Jr., has been charged with impersonating a police officer and illegally possessing a firearm near a protest in the Loop. The incident took place on Thursday evening in the 200 block of South Michigan Avenue, where Mathews was arrested around 5:10 p.m.
According to Chicago police, Mathews was seen wearing police identifiers without authorization. Upon his arrest, officers discovered that he was in possession of a firearm. It remains unclear whether Mathews was at the protest or simply in the area, which was heavily populated with law enforcement officers assigned to monitor the demonstration.
Mathews is set to appear at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Sunday afternoon, where prosecutors are expected to provide more details about the charges against him.
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