Crime & Law
Attorneys for Remaining ‘Broadview 6’ Defendants Seek Records Showing White House Pushed for Criminal Charges
The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois)
Attorneys for the four remaining defendants in the “Broadview Six” conspiracy case are seeking any potential documents that could show the Trump administration pushed for the indictments in the politically charged case.
U.S. District Judge April Perry on Thursday granted portions of a motion brought by defense attorneys for Kat Abughazaleh, Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin and Brian Straw, which asks federal prosecutors to turn over any records showing that the White House improperly sought criminal charges against them due to the defendants’ vocal opposition to President Donald Trump.
Federal prosecutors indicated they don’t believe such communications exist, but if they are found they must be turned over to the defense as part of discovery in the case.
“Put simply,” the defense motion stated, “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 criminal case has been among the most high-profile incidents stemming from the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts in and around Chicago last year known as “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Thursday’s hearing came a week after prosecutors voluntarily dropped charges against two other defendants in this case — Catherine Sharp and Joselyn Walsh — saying that decision came after they continued to evaluate “new facts, evidence, and information to ensure that the interests of justice are served.”
Abughazaleh, a political candidate and former journalist, finished in second place behind Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss in Tuesday’s 15-person Democratic primary race in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, according to unofficial results.
Sharp, who had been running to represent the 12th District on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, suspended her own campaign in January, citing the criminal case against her. Rabbitt serves as a 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson, while Straw is an Oak Park Village Board trustee.
The charges stem from a confrontation on Sept. 26 between protesters and federal agents outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in west suburban Broadview. The indictment against the group alleges they surrounded a government vehicle, “with the intent to hinder and impede” a federal agent from proceeding to the Broadview facility and “discharging the duties of his office.”
According to the indictment, the group broke one of the vehicle’s side mirrors and a rear windshield wiper, scratched it and etched the word “PIG” into the vehicle itself.
Straw’s attorney Chris Parente on Thursday said he wants to know why prosecutors opted to charge only the six people in this case when there were many more who surrounded the vehicle and why they later moved to dismiss their cases against only Sharp and Walsh.
Parente claimed none of those six actually inflicted any damage to the vehicle, while the defense motion argued the defendants’ conduct was “quite benign, and consistent with the lawful exercise of their First Amendment rights.”
Prosecutors said Thursday the person who scratched “PIG” onto the vehicle has not been identified.
“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 motion states. “They all specifically vocalized their criticism of Operation Midway Blitz and the violence perpetrated by federal agents at the Broadview Facility and elsewhere.”
The four remaining defendants have also filed a motion to dismiss the case against them, which Perry has not yet ruled on.
In that motion, the defendants claim the ICE agent driving the SUV “initiated contact” with the protesters by driving their vehicle into an area where the crowd was allowed to demonstrate.
While the four remaining defendants are accused of conspiring together to interfere with ICE activities, defense attorneys argued the only evidence presented by prosecutors of any conspiracy is that the four were all present in the same area at the same time and placed their hands on the ICE vehicle.
“There can be no legitimate dispute that Defendants were participating in a political protest on a public way,” the attorneys wrote in the motion to dismiss, arguing that it represents a “pristine and classic” form of protected speech. “They were vocalizing their opposition to Operation Midway Blitz — an indisputable matter of great public concern — while on public streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks.”
Despite dropping the charges against Sharp and Walsh, prosecutors Thursday said they still intend to bring the remaining defendants to trial, which is scheduled to begin in May.
