The Highland Park massacre suspect sent a video message from Lake County Jail claiming the attack was staged by federal agents, raising questions about his access to communications as he awaits trial on charges of killing seven people and wounding dozens more.
The woman who recorded the Sept. 21 call was found to have violated jail rules and was banned from making further video calls with inmates. But Robert E. Crimo III hasn’t been disciplined and is allowed to make calls from a tablet in his cell, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.
Crimo lost his tablet privileges for a period of time earlier this year after he prank-called a journalist. This time, though, it’s up to a judge to decide what to do since Crimo wasn’t the one who violated jail rules, the sheriff’s office said.
In the 38-second video clip of the call, Crimo claimed the shooting was a “false flag” operation orchestrated by the FBI. Crimo, appearing to be wearing a blue jail uniform, names two purported FBI agents.
“This inmate providing the names of various people, whether involved in his criminal investigation or not, is certainly concerning,” said Lake County Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
The sheriff’s office said it has forwarded details about the call to the Lake County state’s attorney’s office.
“We supply the state’s attorney’s office with all of the information we have on this inmate, as with any other inmate, should [prosecutors] use the information in aggravation associated with their current case or decide to pursue additional charges,” Covelli said.
A spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office said it was aware of the video but wouldn’t comment further.
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Chicago office declined to comment, as did Crimo’s lawyer.
Despite the egregious accusations against Crimo — that he fired an assault rifle from a rooftop on a murderous rampage on the Fourth of July in 2022 — he’s still allowed the same video call privileges as other detainees at Lake County Jail.
“Pre-trial detainees are afforded rights under the constitution and state law,” Covelli said in an email. “The inmate in this case is charged with incredibly heinous, horrific and inexcusable acts, but he has not yet been convicted. Therefore, he is afforded use of the phone/video visitation, as any other pre-trial detainee.”
Inmates at Lake County Jail use tablets to send notices to nurses, social workers, correctional staff and to make telephone and video calls, Covelli said.
The use of video tablets is a common practice in prisons and jails, including Cook County.
Inmates can’t search the Internet but can make texts and video calls, and the tablets can also be used to show educational content. In Cook County, the communications on the tablets are monitored by jail staff, a sheriff’s spokesperson said.
Contributing: Frank Main, Jon Seidel