Summary
- Kat Abughazaleh, progressive Illinois House candidate, indicted for ICE protest.
- Charged with conspiracy and assault for blocking federal immigration officers.
- Videos show her thrown to ground by ICE, sparking viral attention.
Former journalist Kat Abughazaleh, who is currently seeking a seat in the Illinois House, is charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of "forcibly impeded, intimidated, and interfered" with an officer.
Abughazaleh and five other defendants, some of whom are active in Chicago politics, are charged in the grand jury indictment that was released on Wednesday with "aggressively" beating on a federal agent's car, forcing the officer to drive at a "very slow rate of speed," and carving the word "PIG" on the car.
If found guilty, the charges which are among the harshest ever against protestors under Trump's Department of Justice carry jail terms of up to eight years for assault and six years for conspiracy.
“This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment,”
Abughazaleh said on social media after the indictment was unsealed.
Abughazaleh, who is pledging to fight the "unjust charges" against them, claimed that the Trump administration has attempted to "criminalize protest and punish anyone who speaks out against them."
Before running for Illinois' 9th district, which includes sections of Chicago and its suburbs, 26-year-old Abughazaleh was employed by right-wing media watchdog Media Matters.
As the Trump administration rushed federal law enforcement and the National Guard into Illinois, she joined hundreds of protesters outside the Broadview ICE holding facility.
What specific charges were filed against each defendant?
Each defendant faces felony charges with implicit captivity rulings of over to six times for conspiracy and eight times for assaulting or impeding civil officers. These charges reflect the civil government's view that the kick conduct crossed legal boundaries by gumming civil law enforcement officers performing their duties.
The case emphasizes that coordinated kick conduct which physically intrudes with civil officers can affect serious felonious charges, beyond bare civil defiance.
These charges were laid out in the civil charge filed in civil court, and each defendant will have the occasion to respond fairly through censure and posterior proceedings.