BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — They’ve been dubbed the so-called “Broadview Six.” The group is due in court Wednesday, after being accused of getting violent with federal immigration agents. The group includes several local politicians.
They were among the people accused of surrounding and damaging a government vehicle, back in September at the Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
There’s expected to be a rally in support of those charged Wednesday, near the Dirksen Federal Courthouse downtown Chicago.
A federal grand jury indicted the six for allegedly assaulting and conspiring to injure law enforcement.
House candidate Kat Abughazaleh and five others were charged with felony offenses for their alleged involvement in a series of skirmishes with officers that later went viral on social media outside of the facility in Broadview.
Abughazaleh, 26, posted a video on social media responding to the indictment, in which she proclaimed her innocence.
Abughazaleh is running for Congress for the Illinois 9th District to take Jan Schakowsky‘s seat.
The indictment alleges Abughazaleh conspired with others to impede a law enforcement officer from carrying out his duties on Sept. 26 by surrounding his vehicle and banging “aggressively” to prevent it from moving outside of the Broadview facility’s staging area.
The defendants “conspired with one another, and others, known and unknown, to prevent by force, intimidation, and threat, Agent A, a United States law enforcement officer, from discharging the duties of his office…and to injure his property so as to interrupt, hinder, and impede him in the discharge of his official duties,” the indictment alleges.
Abughazaleh has posted multiple videos of her joining protests outside of the facility, including one on Sept. 19 that showed her being thrown to the ground by an ICE officer.
The videos have led to calls from right-wing activists such as Laura Loomer to have the Department of Justice arrest Abughazaleh and others who joined in the protests.
Cook County Board candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp is also among the defendants who had federal charges brought against them.
“The charges brought against Ms. Sharp are ludicrous,” attorney Molly Armour, who is representing Sharp, said in a statement. “We are confident that a jury of Ms. Sharp’s peers will see them for exactly what they are: an effort by the Trump administration to frighten people out of participating in protest and exercising their First Amendment rights.”
“As long as ICE is terrorizing members of our community and disregarding due process, I believe we must continue to speak out,” Sharp said in a statement. “I’m proud of my work organizing in our neighborhoods to keep our immigrant neighbors safe from harm.”
