Six people, including congressional candidate and social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh, pleaded not guilty at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon to charges stemming from protests outside the feds’ immigration facility in Broadview.
It’s one of a series of controversial prosecutions at the federal courthouse tied to the feds’ “Operation Midway Blitz” deportation campaign. The arraignment drew protests across the street from the courthouse, and speeches were expected after the hearing.
One of the six charged, Catherine Sharp, told followers on social media Wednesday she was “heading to court today for my arraignment on ludicrous charges” tied to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the western suburbs.
The charges stem from a protest Sept. 26 outside the Broadview facility, which has been the subject of separate litigation. Video of the incident shows Abughazaleh and several others crowding and pushing against a black SUV, slowing its approach toward the facility.
Charged with Abughazaleh and Sharp are Brian Straw, an Oak Park village trustee; and Michael Rabbitt, a 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson. Also charged are Andre Martin and Joselyn Walsh.
Prosecutors did not seek detention for any of the defendants. Straw’s attorney, Chris Parente, successfully argued that his client should be able to keep his passport while awaiting trial. When Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg noted that it’s a common condition of release, Parente argued that “I highly doubt that she’s charged a case like this before.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain ultimately removed the condition from all six defendants, at Mecklenburg’s suggestion following the ruling for Straw.
An 11-page indictment alleges that, while an agent drove a government vehicle toward the Broadview facility, the six defendants and others surrounded it. Members of the 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.”
When the charges were filed last month, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said in a statement that “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.”
But the case also raised constitutional concerns, targeting Democrats who have opposed the Trump administration’s policies.
McShain handled Wednesday’s arraignment. But the case has also been assigned to U.S. District Judge April Perry, who made national headlines last 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, one of 17 Democratic candidates running in the 9th Congressional District race, posted a TikTok and Instagram video on Oct. 29 about the charges, calling it a “political persecution,” and “a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protests and punish anyone who speaks out against them.”
“You’ll be hearing regular updates directly from me about this case and how we can use our constitutional rights to resist authoritarianism,” Abughazaleh said.
A video of Abughazaleh being pushed to the ground by an ICE agent received 2.4 million views on her TikTok page.
She planned to speak with reporters after the Wednesday hearing.
Nick Pyati, another candidate in the crowded 9th Congressional District race, planned to gather outside Dirksen to protest the charges Wednesday afternoon.
It wasn’t long ago that even a whiff of a federal indictment spelled trouble for politicians in Chicago. But between President Donald Trump’s handling of the Justice Department, and the controversies over his deportation campaign in Chicago, Abughazaleh and others seem to see a political benefit in the prosecution.
In another unusual move, Abughazaleh’s opponents in Illinois’ 9th District congressional race even expressed support, with Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss insisting that “the Trump administration is targeting protesters, including political candidates, in an effort to silence dissent and scare residents into submission.”
Several Illinois officials, including Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also signed a letter condemning the indictment.
A federal judge last week heard three hours of testimony about the Broadview facility near where the protest took place. He heard about detainees crammed 100 to 150 at a time into holding cells, where people had nowhere to sleep but a dirty floor and sometimes near an open toilet.
Though it’s long been considered a short-term “processing center,” U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman has said “It has really become a prison.”
He entered a temporary restraining order aimed at improving conditions inside.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally, who is also involved in the lawsuit over conditions there, is set to visit the facility Thursday.