Wisconsin sheriff suing local woman, Cook County commissioner over detention claims

DODGE COUNTY, Wis. (WLS) — Law enforcement officials are saying a Chicago-area woman’s claims of being detained for two days were a hoax. A Wisconsin sheriff is now suing Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi for defamation, claiming she lied to the public last month, when she said she was held in the Broadview U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility and transferred to Dodge County, Wisconsin. ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch “Sundas Naqvi was not detained by ICE at anytime. She was not transported to Broadview detention facility. She was not transported across state lines to Dodge County, by law enforcement anyway. She was not in the custody of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff Dale Schmidt said Friday. Schmidt, in his lawsuit, outlined what he calls a hoax allegedly carried out by 28-year-old Naqvi. Naqvi’s supporters spoke out last month, after the Evanston native claimed she was detained at O’Hare airport by Customs and Border Protection for 30 hours. Her family said she was then sent to the ICE detention facility in Broadview and later taken to a facility in Dodge County, where they said she was released Saturday, March 7. According to the lawsuit, Sheriff Schmidt says Naqvi was actually staying at a hotel near O’Hare and allegedly sending text messages from her room. “She checked into the Hampton Inn and Suites in Rosemont, Illinois for the entire duration of this alleged event, traveled from the Hampton Inn and Suites in Illinois to the Holiday Express in Beaver Dam, (Wisconsin), was done to complete this hoax. She scammed a victim out of thousands of dollars in pursuit of this hoax against the federal government and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office,” Schmidt said. During the sheriff’s news conference, he displayed what he says are messages from Naqvi at the time she claimed she was in custody. One message said, “going to look into this hotel” and “in the room now.” There was also an image shown at the press conference, in which the sheriff says Naqvi was spotted at a store in Wisconsin during the time she says she was being held by Dodge County officials. Sheriff Schmidt says this isn’t Naqvi’s first time lying to law enforcement. Court records confirm a 2019 case in which Naqvi filed a false police report with Skokie police, claiming she was sexually assaulted in a park. She pleaded guilty and did two years of probation, and the case was then dismissed The sheriff is also suing Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morisson for defamation. Morisson held a press conference on behalf of Naqvi last month. “Allegations of an illegal detention of a US citizen, allegations of a government cover up by federal authorities and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, coordinated messaging designed to generate outrage and media attention. Misuse of the system will not go unanswered. This is Dodge County, Wisconsin, not Cook County, and we will hold them accountable,” Schmidt said. The Dodge County sheriff said while the situation is disturbing and defamatory, no laws were broken in Wisconsin. So they cannot file criminal charges. Neither Naqvi nor her family replied to requests for comment. Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison said, “It is my understanding that a lawsuit has been filed. I have not seen it. And if a suit has in fact been filed, I cannot comment on pending litigation.” The Dodge County sheriff said Naqvi was detained at O’Hare by Customs and Border Protection, but for a little over an hour, not 30 hours as she claimed. Customs and Border Protection said she was flagged for additional inspection based on law enforcement checks.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/dodge-county-wisconsin-sheriff-dale-schmidt-files-defamation-lawsuit-sundas-sunny-naqvi-detention-claims/18868363/