Overview
- An 11-page grand jury indictment filed Oct. 23 and unsealed Oct. 29 charges Kat Abughazaleh with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and with forcibly impeding or interfering with an officer.
- Prosecutors allege that during a Sept. 26 protest outside the Broadview ICE facility, defendants surrounded an agent’s vehicle, banged on it, pushed against it, etched “PIG” into the body, and damaged a mirror and rear wiper, forcing the agent to inch forward to avoid injuries.
- Five others are charged alongside Abughazaleh: Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin, Catherine Sharp, Brian Straw, and Joselyn Walsh; court records note Martin worked for Abughazaleh and Sharp is a Cook County Board candidate.
- Defendants are expected to self-surrender and appear in court Nov. 5; if convicted, the counts carry statutory maximum sentences of up to six years and up to eight years, respectively.
- Abughazaleh called the case a political prosecution that criminalizes protest, as video of recent Broadview clashes circulates and prior court orders have limited certain crowd-control tactics and required agent identification and recording.