Six individuals, including several currently holding or running for political office, have been charged with a variety of offenses after allegedly interfering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a recent protest in Illinois. The Department of Justice accuses them of obstructing ICE agents, while congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, who is Palestinian-American, condemns the charges against her and others as an attempt to criminalize protest.
Charges of conspiring to interfere with ICE
Six people, including Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for alleged activities conducted during a protest against ICE in Broadview, Illinois. Abughazaleh, a progressive candidate seeking to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky to represent Illinois’ 9th District, is charged with allegedly having “physically hindered and impeded” an ICE agent when she took part in the protest. She is also charged with a count of conspiracy for allegedly coordinating with other protesters. Five other people were indicted alongside Abughazaleh after participating in the Sept. 26 protest, including Michael Rabbitt, a 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson, and Catherine Sharp, a candidate for the Cook County Board. The indictment alleges that the six were among those who “pushed against” and “banged aggressively” on an ICE vehicle, allegedly damaging it and forcing its driver “to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed to avoid injuring any of the conspirators,” CBS News and NBC News reported. The protesters are alleged to have carved the word “PIG” on the side of the vehicle, per CBS News.
‘A gross attempt to silence dissent’
Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old journalist and political influencer, posted a 2-minute video on social media condemning the charges against her as “a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment.” She frames the charges against her and the others as part of a larger attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate and silence protesters. “As I and others have exercised our First Amendment rights, ICE has hit, dragged, thrown, shot with pepper balls and teargassed hundreds of protesters.” She urged her supporters to overcome the fear that the administration is attempting to instill, calling on her followers to “unite and stand up for humanity, our rights and everyone terrorized by Trump’s lawless secret police.”
Abughazaleh has amassed social media followers, right-wing foes
Before running for Congress, Abughazaleh grew a large social media following through her videos analyzing and reacting to right-wing media figures like Tucker Carlson. Her congressional campaign, announced on social media, has drawn support from notable personalities like actor Mark Ruffalo and politician Andrew Yang. Her campaign website also includes a section of “anti-endorsements,” noting right-wing figures like Carlson and billionaire Elon Musk, with whom Abughazaleh has clashed online. While her followers have expressed support following her indictment, conservative commenters have celebrated the charges against her, cheerfully sharing video of her being thrown to the ground by an armed agent while protesting.
Abughazaleh was not taken into custody upon the unsealing of the indictment against her. She is scheduled to appear in court next week to address the charges against her. Meanwhile, she is using the indictment to rally support for her congressional campaign and to call on her supporters in the Chicago area and elsewhere to stand up to ICE and the Trump administration.