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Democracy Now!

Chicago Police Accused of Detaining, Abusing Americans in 'Black Site'

"Democracy Now!" airs weekdays at 9 a.m. PT on KCET.

An explosive new report in The Guardian claims that the Chicago police are operating a secret compound for detentions and interrogations, often with abusive methods.

According to the newspaper, detainees as young as 15 have been taken to a nondescript warehouse known as Homan Square. Some are calling it the domestic equivalent of a CIA "black site" overseas. Prisoners were denied access to their attorneys, beaten, and held for up to 24 hours without any official record of their detention.

Two former senior officials in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice are calling on their colleagues to launch a probe into allegations of excessive use of force, denial of right to counsel, and coercive interrogations.

"Democracy Now!" speaks to Spencer Ackerman, national security editor at The Guardian, and Victoria Suter, who was held at Homan Square after being arrested at Chicago's NATO protests in 2012.

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