Biography
Maureen Foody is an Illinois court reporter who was detained during a protest outside the Broadview immigration detention facility in October 2025 and released without charges. In October 2026, she and Kyle Frankovich filed a defamation lawsuit against podcaster Benny Johnson. They alleged that his videos falsely accused them of attacking federal officers and that the accusations exposed them to threats and professional harm.
Foody’s October 2, 2026 civil complaint gives additional details about the October 3, 2025 Broadview detention: she alleges that officers knocked her down and applied painfully tight handcuffs, then held her inside the facility before transporting her to a gas station about a mile away for release without charges. The complaint also describes continuing professional harm. As an independent-contractor court reporter, she alleges that anxiety and disrupted sleep forced her to reduce her workload and income, and that she removed her online professional presence out of concern about recognition and threats. These are allegations by Foody in her defamation suit, not findings that the defendants are liable. The already documented approximately eight-hour confinement and same-day custody dates remain unchanged.
