Politics
Kat Abughazaleh, Other Democratic Candidates Indicted for ‘Impeding’ Federal Agent Outside Broadview ICE Facility
Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, left, is seen along with a crowd around a vehicle on Sept. 26, 2025, outside the Broadview ICE facility. (Credit: Kat Abughazaleh)
A Democratic candidate for Congress and a candidate for Cook County Board along with four other people were indicted Thursday on charges they conspired to “forcibly impeded, intimidated, and interfered with” a federal agent while protesting outside the Broadview ICE facility, according to court records.
Kat Abughazaleh, who is running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, and Catherine “Cat” Sharp, who is running to represent the 12th District on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, were indicted alongside 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, Oak Park Village Board Trustee Brian Straw, Andre Martin and Joselyn Walsh, according to the indictment published Thursday.
The charges involve a confrontation just before 8 a.m. on Sept. 26 between protesters and federal agents outside the west suburban facility that has become the focus of protests against the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort in Chicago dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”
“No one is above the law and no one has the right to obstruct it,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who served as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney. “Federal agents perform dangerous, essential work every single day to enforce our immigration laws and keep our communities safe. When individuals resort to force or intimidation to interfere with that mission, they attack not only the agents themselves but the rule of law they represent.”
At the Broadview ICE facility, an ICE agent tried to run dozens of protesters over with an SUV as we walked on a public crosswalk. He kept driving for about a full football field until ICE barraged us with pepper balls.
[image or embed]— Kat Abughazaleh (@katmabu.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 7:59 AM
In a video posted to her social media accounts, Abughazaleh and more than a dozen other protestors are shown trying to physically prevent an SUV from entering the facility by pushing back on the car while chanting “up, up with liberation and down, down with deportations.”
Some members of the crowd pound on the car, which is seen slowly moving forward.
“An ICE agent tried to run dozens of protesters over with an SUV as we walked on a public crosswalk,” Abughazaleh said along with the video. “He kept driving for about a full football field until ICE barraged us with pepper balls.”
The statement from the Department of Justice announcing the indictment included a link to another video of the confrontation, this one posted on YouTube by BG On The Scene, which identifies itself as an independent media outlet, that does not show the vehicle being vandalized, as the indictment alleges.
Abughazaleh vowed to fight the charges, which she called “unjust.”
“This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt at silencing dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment,” Abughazaleh said, alongside a request for campaign donations. “This case is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those who dare to speak up.”
Abughazaleh has been a frequent presence outside the west suburban facility, and has posted several videos that depict her being tear gassed and tossed to the ground by federal agents.
Sharp called the charges “ludicrous.”
“This is a scary moment,” Sharp said in a statement. “But I want you to know that I am confident that a jury of my peers will see these charges for exactly for what they are — another effort by the Trump administration to frighten people out of participating in protest and exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Nancy DePodesta, Rabbitt’s attorney, said they were “extremely disappointed to learn of the charges. Mr. Rabbitt intends to plead not guilty and will have more to say about this matter at a later time.”
Martin, Straw and Walsh could not immediately be reached for comment.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge April Perry, a Biden appointee. Perry has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops into Chicago.
All six defendants are scheduled to make their first court appearance on Nov. 5.
The video posted by Abughazaleh showed several dozen people attempting to prevent the car from moving. It is not clear why just six people, including two elected officials and two Democratic Party candidates for office, were indicted.
In a statement, the Department of Justice asked those who can identify other people in the video of the confrontation to contact the Chicago field office of the FBI.
The indictment only identifies the government employee driving the vehicle as “Agent A.” The indictment does not allege the agent was physically injured.
While surrounding the vehicle, the defendants “among other things, banged aggressively on the government vehicle’s side and back windows, hood, and other vehicle body parts; crowded together in the front and side of the government vehicle and pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement; scratched the body of the government vehicle, including etching a message into the body of the vehicle, specifically the word “PIG;” broke one of the government vehicle’s side mirrors; and broke a rear windshield wiper off the government vehicle,” according to the indictment.
The agent was not in uniform, and the vehicle was unmarked, according to the indictment.
Because of their actions, the agent was “forced to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed to avoid injuring any of the conspirators and in doing so slowly progressed towards the BSSA to discharge the duties of his office,” according to the indictment.
The video included in the Department of Justice’s statement does not show anyone vandalizing or damaging the car. The footage does capture protesters tossing stuffed toys onto to the car, which continues to move at a slow pace with many people holding on to it. For most of the video, a pink stuffed toy sits atop the large black SUV.
Rabbitt appears to have his hands on the vehicle for less than a minute, before he backs away, according to the video. Sharp, who has distinctive red hair, is visible only briefly near Abughazaleh at the start of the video, and it is not clear whether she ever touches the vehicle, according to video evidence.
At the start of the video, Abughazaleh has her hands on the hood of the vehicle and then disappears from view. Two minutes later, Abughazaleh reappears, walking alongside the car and chanting, visible through the passenger side and driver’s side windows. She is later seen fleeing after agents discharge a chemical agent at the protesters.
As the vehicle enters the facility, it does not appear significantly damaged, as alleged in the indictment.
Several days after the confrontation, Illinois and Cook County law enforcement constructed designated areas for protesters to “safely exercise their rights” that have prevented similar clashes between agents and protesters.
Both Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who protested alongside Abughazaleh outside the Broadview facility but was not present Sept. 26 and is also running for the congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, denounced the indictment of his rival.
“The only people engaged in violent and dangerous behavior at Broadview have been ICE,” Biss said.
State Sen. Laura Fine, who is also running for Congress against Biss and Abughazaleh, said the indictments “partisan and unethical.”
“This unjust prosecution is an attempt to intimidate and silence those who stand up for their rights and beliefs,” Fine said. “It’s an attack on anyone sickened by masked men roaming our streets and shoving our neighbors into unmarked cars. It’s a threat to everyone willing to call this what it is: creeping tyranny.”
Sharp works as chief of staff to Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward), the chair of the City Council’s Immigration and Refugee Rights Committee.
Vasquez said the charges were an attempt to “scare us into submission.”
“With these charges, they’re acting with the same lack of regard for the Constitution that we’ve seen from them every day on the streets of Chicago,” Vasquez said in a statement.
Vasquez was present throughout the confrontation on Sept. 26. Vasquez does not appear to touch the vehicle at any point during the incident, although he walks alongside those who have their hands on the car and are attempting to halt its progress, according to the video. Vasquez declined to comment on his actions or whether he saw anyone intentionally damage or vandalize the vehicle in a brief interview Thursday with WTTW News.
Approximately two dozen people have been charged with assaulting or impeding federal immigration officers in recent weeks, records show.
Five cases have been dismissed by prosecutors. A grand jury refused to return an indictment in one case.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
