The Department of Justice has charged Kat Abughazaleh, a Democratic congressional candidate in Illinois, with obstructing vehicles during protests near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview last month. Five other individuals faced similar charges.
Abughazaleh, who is running for Illinois’ 9th congressional district, stated the indictment represents a “political prosecution” targeting First Amendment rights. She vowed to fight the allegations, declaring, “We’re going to win.” Others indicted include Catherine Sharp, a Cook County Board candidate, and Michael Rabbitt, a 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson, along with Andre Martin, Brian Straw, and Joselyn Walsh.
The 11-page indictment alleges the six individuals surrounded a government vehicle on Sept. 26, aiming to “hinder and impede” a federal agent’s duties. It claims they aggressively pounded the vehicle’s windows, crowded around it, pushed against it, and scratched its surface. The document also cited the act of etching “PIG” on the vehicle and damaging its mirror and windshield wiper.
A federal agent was forced to drive at an extremely slow speed to avoid injuring protesters, according to the indictment. Abughazaleh is accused of bracing her body against the vehicle to block it, as reported by WGN-TV. The 26-year-old former journalist launched her congressional campaign in March after Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) announced she would not seek re-election.
Abughazaleh defended the protest actions, stating, “ICE has hit, dragged, thrown, shot with pepper balls, and tear gassed hundreds of protesters… simply because we had the gall to say that masked men coming into our communities, abducting our neighbors, and terrorizing us cannot be our new normal.” She added, “I’m not gonna stop now, and I hope you won’t either.”
Arraignments for the defendants have not been scheduled, and the case is assigned to U.S. District Judge April Perry.