Overview
- A federal judge launched a formal fact-finding inquiry this week into the failed prosecution of six protesters from a September 2025 ICE demonstration after review of unredacted grand‑jury material revealed apparent misconduct.
- At a Thursday hearing Judge April Perry ordered the U.S. Attorney’s Office to produce documents and testimony under oath, accepted intervention by the lead prosecutor and set a status report deadline of Nov. 2.
- Court filings and the judge’s account say the lead prosecutor, Sheri Mecklenburg, is accused of speaking to grand jurors outside the grand jury room, vouching for charges with her credibility, and removing jurors who dissented, allegations she denies.
- Mecklenburg has retired and contends she followed directions from U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, who has acknowledged errors but faces questions about when his office first learned of the problems; Perry also ordered the government to pay defendants’ attorney fees under the Hyde Amendment.
- The inquiry brought University of Chicago professor William Baude in as an amicus to brief the court on whether a judge can appoint an independent prosecutor, a step that could trigger criminal contempt referrals, wider dismissals of cases handled by the implicated prosecutor, or internal reforms.