Federal prosecutors in Chicago drew swift criticism Wednesday with the unsealing of a grand jury indictment that charges six people, including congressional candidate and social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh, with conspiring to impede a federal officer in Broadview.
The charges stem from a protest last month outside the western suburb’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Video of the incident shows Abughazaleh and several others crowding and pushing against a black SUV, slowing its approach toward the facility.
But the case also raises constitutional concerns, targeting Democrats who have opposed the Trump administration deportation campaign known as “Operation Midway Blitz.” The defendants each face a conspiracy charge carrying a maximum prison sentence of six years.
Charged with Abughazaleh, 26, are Catherine Sharp, 29, who is running for a Cook County Board seat and serves as chief of staff to Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th); Brian Straw, 38, an Oak Park trustee; and Michael Rabbitt, 62, a 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson. Also charged are Andre Martin, 27, and Joselyn Walsh, 31.
An initial appearance and arraignment for the group has been set for Nov. 5 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said in a statement that “all federal officials must be able to discharge the duties of their office without confronting force, intimidation or threats. As we have warned repeatedly, we will seek to hold accountable those who cross the line from peaceful protests to unlawful actions or conspiracies that interrupt, hinder, or impede the due administration of justice.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also said, “no one is above the law and no one has the right to obstruct it.”
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge April Perry, who made headlines earlier this month when she blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops within Illinois. She found that the administration’s “perception of events” around Chicago is “simply unreliable.”
Abughazaleh on Wednesday called the indictment “a political prosecution and a gross attempt at silencing dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment.” Straw said the Justice Department’s “decision to seemingly hand-pick public officials like me for standing up against these inhumane policies will not deter me from fulfilling my oath of office.”
Sharp attorney Molly Armour called the charges “ludicrous” and “an effort by the Trump administration to frighten people out of participating in protest and exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Rabbit’s attorney, Nancy DePodesta, said only that “we are extremely disappointed to learn of the charges. Mr. Rabbit intends to plead not guilty and will have more to say about this matter at a later time.”
The criticism of the case was not limited to the defendants and their lawyers. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, one of Abughazaleh’s many opponents in Illinois’ 9th District congressional race, insisted that “the Trump Administration is targeting protesters, including political candidates, in an effort to silence dissent and scare residents into submission.”
“The only people engaged in violent and dangerous behavior at Broadview have been ICE,” Biss added.
Biss, who has also protested at Broadview, said federal agents fired a chemical agent toward him and other protesters on Sept. 19.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and Illinois Sen. Laura Fine, also running for Schakowksy’s seat, were among those joining in the chorus. Kaegi called the indictment “the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s targeting of political opponents.” Fine called it “partisan and unethical.”
It’s unusual criticism for federal prosecutors in Chicago, but the kind that seemed inevitable given President Donald Trump’s handling of the Justice Department. Some candidates might also see a political benefit in criticizing the indictment, with many offering that they, too, have participated in protests at Broadview.
Schakowsky, who has steered clear of commenting on the crowded race to succeed her, told the Sun-Times in a statement that the indictments are “an alarming abuse of power.”
“Targeting individuals for exercising their rights is an attack on the very foundation of our democracy,” Schakowsky said. “We must reject any effort to use our justice system as a weapon against free expression and democratic values.”
Other prosecutions stemming from Trump’s deportation campaign are already being hotly contested at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, with defense attorneys insisting on speedy trials and questioning the feds’ tactics.
Abughazaleh has urged her supporters to join protests at Broadview, and she included footage of being pushed to the ground by an ICE agent in a recent campaign ad.
On Sept. 19, Abughazaleh posted two videos on social media that showed federal agents both dragging her and shoving her to the ground. In one, she is sitting cross-legged on the ground with a poster when an agent picks her up and drags her away. In another, she is seen walking in front of an ICE vehicle and is lifted up by an agent and pushed to the ground. The fall is accompanied by a loud thump.
“This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights,” Abughazaleh wrote.
Abughazaleh told the Chicago Sun-Times that day that she had been thrown to the ground twice by ICE agents and was helping another protester when an agent lifted her by her chest, carried her and threw her onto the asphalt.
“I wasn’t surprised, and that’s part of why we’re here,” Abughazaleh said. “Everyone here is at least a little bit scared, but mostly, I’m angry, and we need to get the facility shut down.”
In another social media video, she detailed brushes with Illinois State Police, saying she was “beaten by batons by state forces while our friends were being arrested.”