Chicago Laugh Factory manager detained by masked Border Patrol agents

The night manager of the Chicago Laugh Factory is now out on bond. He faces a federal assault charge that could mean as much as eight years in prison.

By Matt Schimkowitz | October 26, 2025 | 6:20pm

(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

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Chicago Laugh Factory manager detained by masked Border Patrol agents

A battalion of masked federal officers detained the manager of a Chicago comedy club on Friday morning. Border Patrol agents arrested Nate Griffin, a natural-born U.S. citizen, outside the Laugh Factory in Chicago, where he works as night manager, per NBC Chicago, amid the federal department’s immigration blitz, which has finally turned Chicago into the warzone conservative pundits and the President have described for years. A statement from Border Patrol said, “The individual was immediately detained and turned over to the FBI for investigation.” Much of the incident was captured on video, showing a crowd of people screaming at DHS agents as they knock over Griffin and his mother, Elaine Plybon. Griffin reportedly attempted to intervene as DHS tried to “grab a man” off the streets, NBC reports.

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The independent outlet The Tribe, a Black-owned Chicago-based online publication, spoke to Ryan Oliver, a part-time custodian at the Laugh Factory, who witnessed the altercation and saw a bloodied day laborer being detained. “I was trying to look through the glass, and I seen a bunch of people holding cell phones. And then I went outside,” Oliver told The Tribe. “It was a Latino man. He was on the ground getting picked up by what looked to be federal officers. He was getting put in an unmarked car.”

Five or 10 minutes later, Oliver continued, as citizens yelled at the masked agents arresting people without warrants or due process, Griffin and his mother were caught up in the fracas. Videos from the incident show both Griffin and his mother being pushed to the ground by unknown agents. As bystanders pleaded with the agents to show their faces and to tell them where the manager was being taken, the officers put Griffin into an SUV and drove off.

In an Instagram video, Griffin’s mother, Elaine Plybon, described being traumatized by the incident. “When I think about going out the door, I don’t want to. I don’t want to encounter the SUV, the screams, the crying, and the horrific things I saw before I was pulled into the fray, when somebody tried to kidnap my son,” she says in the video. “Then my hand starts hurting as if a reminder that it’s already done, so then I hide in my apartment, reliving Friday over and over, and every time I hear a shout from the street below or somebody’s raised voice, I’m afraid. ‘Is it happening again?'”

According to a GoFundMe launched by Plybon and Griffin’s brother-in-law, Griffin faces a federal assault charge, which could land him eight years in prison.

“My brother-in-law Nathan was detained by border patrol officers today in Chicago, despite the fact that he is a natural-born American citizen,” the GoFundMe states. “After being arrested and hidden throughout the system, he finally resurfaced about 4 hours after his detainment in FBI custody awaiting a hearing for a federal assault charge which could carry 8 years in prison if convicted. We are asking for donations to assist with his legal fees as well as travel and other associated expenses.”

Since launching on October 25, the GoFundMe has raised $19,000 of its $25,000 goal.