Federal prosecutors in Chicago are being asked to turn over “White House communications” by attorneys defending six people — including four Democratic politicians — charged with a conspiracy tied to protests outside an immigration holding facility in Broadview.
A defense attorney for congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, one of the six charged, also told a judge Thursday that a “selective prosecution motion” could be on the way in the case that’s one of the most high-profile to result from the feds’ “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Defense attorneys have yet to file any motions, and U.S. District Judge April Perry made no rulings during a brief status hearing in the case Thursday. It’s not even clear if any relevant communications exist between the White House and Chicago’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Still, the 10-minute hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse signaled that a significant legal battle is brewing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg told Perry during the hearing about the request for White House communications. Perry later scheduled the next hearing in the case for Jan. 28.
Charged along with Abughazaleh are Cook County Board candidate Cat Sharp, who is chief of staff to Ald. Andre Vasquez; Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw; 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt; Andre Martin and musician Joselyn Walsh.
Each is charged with a conspiracy to impede a federal officer for allegedly slowing an agent’s drive toward the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Sept. 26. They each face a maximum of seven years in prison.
The group makes up one third of the 18 known defendants still facing federal charges tied to the aggressive deportation campaign that hit Chicago this fall. Prosecutors have dropped charges against at least 13 others. No such case has led to a conviction, so far.
But unlike most of the others, which revolve around the alleged assault of federal officers, the case against the six who protested outside Broadview alleges a conspiracy that raises crucial questions about the First Amendment.
Defense attorneys now say they’re also pursuing the kind of claim raised in the prosecutions of ex-FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Selective prosecution arguments were raised in both cases in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The cases against Comey and James have since been dismissed — not because of selective prosecution claims, but because prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was not properly installed as U.S. attorney there.
In the local Broadview conspiracy case, Abughazaleh is the most politically prominent of the six defendants. She’s a progressive Internet personality and is among several Democrats running for Illinois’ 9th District congressional seat.
Unlike generations of Chicago politicians who laid low while facing federal prosecution, Abughazaleh has embraced the legal fight. She even announced her indictment on social media.
The 11-page indictment in the case alleges that, while an agent drove a vehicle toward the Broadview ICE facility on Sept. 26, the six defendants and others surrounded it. Members of that group allegedly banged on the vehicle, pushed against it, scratched it and even etched the word “PIG” onto it.
They allegedly broke a side mirror, a rear windshield wiper and forced the agent “to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed.”
While there’s video of the encounter, defense attorneys say there’s more to the story. Abughazaleh attorney Josh Herman has also said the case “creates a conspiracy about people standing together, spontaneously, to protest injustice.”
Michael Leonard, a local defense attorney not involved in the case, told the Chicago Sun-Times that selective prosecution motions boil down to a claim of “prosecutorial misconduct” and are “rarely raised.”
“Even when raised, it’s rarely found to be a basis for dismissal,” Leonard said.
Leonard said the Broadview conspiracy defendants might have better odds of victory, thanks in part to President Donald Trump’s social media commentary calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey, James and others.
The post made no reference to anyone in Chicago, but it seeks the prosecution of Trump’s political foes.
Leonard said selective prosecution motions revolve around the question of whether a defendant has been prosecuted “based upon a protected factor.” He said it’s typically a “race-based challenge.”
“The legal question’s going to be, ‘Well, is a political viewpoint sufficient to support a claim of selective prosecution?’” Leonard said.