Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh is among a half dozen people the Justice Department has charged for allegedly impeding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, according to an indictment obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Abughazaleh is the latest in a series of Democratic politicians facing legal consequences for protest actions against the Trump administration's immigration operations.
- The 26-year-old progressive, who is a frontrunner in the race to succeed Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), called the charges "a political prosecution and a gross attempt at silencing dissent" in a statement.
- Her lead opponent in the Democratic primary, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, called the protest "nonviolent" in a statement, saying he hopes "these frivolous charges are dropped immediately."
Driving the news: The indictment accuses Abughazaleh and five others of "hindering and impeding" ICE officers by blocking an agency vehicle during an anti-ICE protest in suburban Chicago last month.
- The indictment alleges that the defendants "banged aggressively on the [vehicle's] side and back windows, hood, and other vehicle body parts" and "pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement."
- It also accuses them of scratching the vehicle, etching the word "PIG" into it and breaking a mirror and a windshield wiper.
- The defendants have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer, which carry sentences of up to six and eight years in prison, respectively.
The other side: "As I and others exercised our First Amendment rights, ICE has hit, dragged, thrown, shot with pepper balls, and teargassed hundreds of protesters, myself included," Abughazaleh said in her statement.
- She added: "The Trump administration wants you to be afraid of speaking out against it and its anti-democratic power grabs."
- Viral video of the protest showed Abughazaleh getting thrown to the ground by an ICE officer after standing in front of the vehicle.
Editor's note; This story has been updated with additional reporting.
