Charges dismissed for 2 of ‘Broadview 6’ ICE facility protesters
[March 17, 2026]
By Hannah Meisel
CHICAGO — A federal judge on Friday granted prosecutors’ motion to
dismiss charges against two of six Democratic officeholders, candidates
and activists indicted last fall after protesting outside a U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Chicago.
The “Broadview Six,” named for the small suburb in which the ICE
facility became a hotbed for protest action in September, have
maintained since their October indictments that they were selectively
charged among dozens of protesters for political reasons.
Within minutes of the feds making the charges public, Democratic
congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh posted a video on
social media calling the indictment “a political prosecution and a gross
attempt to silence dissent” by “weaponizing the federal justice system.”
Charges dropped
Charges were officially dropped Friday against Cook County Board
candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp, who dropped out of the race in January
citing the “emotional and financial” costs of fighting the case. Joselyn
Walsh, who does not work in politics but performed songs during protests
at Broadview, also had charges dropped. During the same Sept. 26
demonstration at issue in the case, federal agents shot a rubber bullet
through Walsh’s guitar.
In a statement Thursday, Walsh expressed relief that her charges were
dismissed but that it “does not change the disruption it caused in my
life for the past six months.”
“It also does not change that I was a victim of ICE violence when they
shot my guitar and that many continue to experience violence at the
hands of federal agents in Chicago and across the country,” she said.
Sharp predicted vindication for “all six of us.”
“This motion to dismiss proves what we have always known — that the
indictment in this case was flawed from the outset,” Sharp said in a
statement.
Indictment narrowed
The feds’ motion to dismiss those charges came two weeks after
prosecutors agreed to narrow the scope of the indictment.
Remaining defendants include Abughazaleh and her deputy campaign manager
Andre Martin, along with Chicago 45th Ward Democratic Committeeman
Michael Rabbitt, a former candidate for the Illinois House, and Oak Park
Village Trustee Brian Straw.
The group was charged with felony conspiracy, with prosecutors alleging
they conspired to “interrupt, hinder, and impede” a federal immigration
agent from the “discharge of his official duties.” They also face
charges for misdemeanor simple assault of a federal officer, which does
not require physical contact.
The charges stem from a late September demonstration at the height of
protests outside the ICE facility, a few weeks into the Trump
administration’s Chicago-area immigration enforcement surge campaign
dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Of the 50 to 100 protesters present at the Sept. 26 demonstration, more
than a dozen were captured on video — including footage posted to
Abughazaleh’s social media accounts — surrounding a vehicle driven by a
federal agent into the ICE facility’s property, banging on its hood and
windows while the agent drove slowly through the crowd.
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Joselyn Walsh, one of six people charge by federal prosecutors in
connection to a September 2025 protest in Broadview, sings outside
the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago in November. Conspiracy
charges against her and another defendant were officially dropped on
Friday, March 13. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Maggie Dougherty)
To prove a conspiracy charge, which carries a maximum of six years in
prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors have to prove intent that a
group of people agreed to act in concert. And while the burden of proof
for the charge is not a particularly high bar, government lawyers
haven’t routinely hit protesters with conspiracy charges in modern
history.
‘Improper influence’ from White House
And in a new filing, lawyers for the remaining four defendants asked
U.S. District Judge April Perry to force the Department of Justice to
turn over records — including Trump administration communications — that
they believe would show “improper influence” from the White House to the
Department of Justice to bring the charges.
In a 26-page motion Friday, attorneys alleged the public record is
“replete with public admissions” from members of the Trump
administration that it is actively weaponizing the Department of Justice
and federal courts “to retaliate against perceived political enemies.”
Lawyers pointed out multiple instances in which White House or
Department of Homeland Security officials responded to Abughazaleh’s
social media and appearances on cable news.
For example, in early October, a spokesperson for now-ousted DHS
Secretary Kristi Noem responded to one Abughazaleh appearance on MSNBC
with her own on Fox News. In the interview, lawyers wrote in Friday’s
filing that Tricia McLaughlin “personally attacked” Abughazaleh as
“dishonest, desperate and demonizing law enforcement to try to get 5
minutes on MSNBC and some fundraising cash.”
Attorneys also bolstered their arguments that the indictment was
politically motivated, as “the one commonality among these four
defendants is that via social media platforms and public statements they
were all outspoken critics of the Trump Administration,” the filing
said.
“Put simply, the defendants, the Court, and the public deserve an answer
as to whether this prosecution was brought for unconstitutional
retaliatory and/or selective reasons,” the lawyers wrote.
The case is set for trial beginning May 26.
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coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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