Overview
- The six defendants were set to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
- An 11-page indictment alleges they surrounded and damaged an ICE SUV during the Sept. 26 protest, charging one conspiracy count carrying up to six years and several impeding counts punishable by up to one year each.
- Those charged are Kat Abughazaleh, Catherine Sharp, Michael Rabbitt, Brian Straw, Andre Martin, and Joselyn Walsh, several of whom hold or seek public office.
- Public video shows the SUV inching through a crowd as protesters tried to block it and agents fired pepper balls, and the defendants denounce the prosecution as political and a threat to First Amendment rights.
- U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros says the government seeks accountability for unlawful conduct, the case is assigned to U.S. District Judge April Perry, and separate court oversight of Broadview conditions continues with a TRO by Judge Robert Gettleman and a planned site visit by Magistrate Judge Laura McNally.