Crime & Law
‘Broadview Six’ Defendants React to Allegations of Prosecutorial Misconduct: ‘It Had a Serious Personal Toll’
Michael Rabbitt was on an anniversary trip with his wife in Portugal when he learned that he, along with five other Chicago-area residents, were indicted on federal conspiracy charges and misdemeanor assault for their involvement at a demonstration outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview on Sept. 26, 2025.
“There was concern about getting back into the country,” Rabbitt said. “I talked to a member of Congress who warned me that, ‘You have to be prepared, they might detain you.’ And I said, ‘Well, my attorney said that won’t happen.’ They said, ‘Michael, you need to take this seriously because this is the Trump administration and they don’t follow the law.’”
All of the charges were abruptly dropped last month just days before trial.
Newly unsealed grand jury transcripts from the “Broadview Six” case reveal serious alleged misconduct by the federal prosecutors involved in the case.
The partially redacted documents show Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg allegedly engaged in a range of inappropriate actions like improper communication with jurors outside of formal proceedings, repeatedly challenging skeptical jurors about whether they could remain “open-minded,” and “vouching” for the strength of the case by telling jurors they could trust her judgement.
“I know you and I trust you and you know me and you trust me,” Mecklenburg told grand jurors on Oct. 9, according to the transcript, “and I would never ask you to charge somebody if I didn’t think there was probable cause and you know you’ve asked me before, ‘Well, what about this person?’ And I said, ‘I don’t charge people unless I’m absolutely sure.’”
On Oct. 21, Mecklenburg acknowledged she’d spoken to a pair of grand jurors outside of the hearings, adding that she “did something today that I’m not supposed to do.” In both instances, she claimed the grand jurors had apologized to her about tension during the Oct. 9 proceedings.
Cat Sharp, the chief of staff for the 40th Ward and one of the “Broadview Six” defendants, was frustrated at the level of misconduct presented in the transcripts, but also vindicated to see her suspicions validated and confirmed.
“To see that they were willing to inappropriately excuse grand jurors in order to relentlessly seek these charges against us raises a significant number of questions for me,” Sharp said. “We know that there were assistant U.S. attorneys as well as the U.S. attorney who knew about this initial misconduct and did not inform the defense, Judge Perry or the public.”
U.S. District Judge April Perry said she was “incredibly shocked” after reviewing the full transcripts, stating that after reading hundreds, if not thousands, of grand jury transcripts during her career she had never seen this type of prosecutorial behavior.
Mecklenburg has since lost her position with the Senate Judiciary Committee after the misconduct allegations became public, and several prosecutors were removed from later proceedings.
“The charges that we were facing potentially have a prison sentence of up to seven years,” said Sharp, who had been running for Cook County commissioner at the time and ultimately decided to drop out of the race following the indictment. “It had a serious personal toll on thinking about what the future could look like when we are facing not just prison but now a significant amount of legal debt.”
Defense attorneys have accused the government of a cover-up and claimed the prosecution was politically motivated.
Five of the six defendants were elected officials, candidates for public office or involved in a political campaign.
“A couple weeks after the indictment was unsealed, my family had to leave my house while a threatening call was investigated,” said Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw, another defendant in the case. “My children have had nightmares, I’ve had to figure out how my wife and I would be able to afford our legal defense. The last seven months have been hell.”
The defendants have since filed a Hyde Amendment claim in order to be reimbursed for legal fees incurred.
“All of us were there (at Broadview) to stand up for our immigrant neighbors and core constitutional rights,” Straw said. “The first thing I did that day was tie the due process clause of the U.S. constitution onto the gate outside of the ICE detention facility. I think that’s the spirit all of us were coming to this protest with and the same spirit that’s been a throughline for how we have conducted ourselves through this case.”
Matt Masterson contributed to this report.
