The Department of Justice dropped conspiracy charges against failed Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh and three co-defendants who allegedly obstructed federal immigration enforcement.
Abughazaleh, 27, a former Media Matters for America employee who in March narrowly lost the Democratic primary for a deep blue Chicago-area House seat, participated in a protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois on Sept. 26, 2025. The Department of Justice (DOJ) accused the ex-social media influencer and her alleged co-conspirators of surrounding and damaging an ICE vehicle, but on Wednesday unexpectedly dropped the most serious of its charges against the group, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
If a jury had convicted Abughazaleh and her co-defendants on this now-dropped felony conspiracy charge, they would have each faced up to a maximum of six years in prison, according to the outlet. The group of four now each face a misdemeanor charge of forcibly impeding a federal agent — which carries a maximum of one year behind bars — as a May 26 trial looms.
Abughazaleh, Andre Martin — who was at the time her deputy campaign manager, Chicago Democratic committeeman Michael Rabbitt and Oak Park, Illinois trustee Brian Straw were initially part of a group of six defendants, dubbed the “Broadview Six.” In its indictment, the DOJ had alleged that the group committed conspiracy to “interrupt, hinder, and impede” the ICE agent from the “discharge of his official duties,” Central Illinois-based NPR affiliate WCBU reported.
Federal prosecutors dropped the charges against the other two members of the Six — failed Democratic county board candidate Cat Sharp and musician Joselyn Walsh — in March, according to the Sun-Times.
The DOJ and Abughazaleh each did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
On the day of the incident, Abughazaleh posted a video of her and what appeared to be at least a dozen other protesters, some wearing masks, surrounding the vehicle. She had alleged in her post that an ICE officer had “tried to run dozens of protesters over with an SUV,” adding that the agency “barraged us with pepper balls.”
Agents had deployed chemical agents against the protestors, and one officer shoved the then-candidate to the ground during the confrontation, the Sun-Times reported at the time.
After the protest the former congressional candidate had participated in, the ICE agent reported noticeable damage to its windshield wipers and the word “PIG” — a well-known pejorative for law enforcement — engraved into its side, according to WCBU. However, none of the remaining co-defendants are being charged for this apparent vandalism.
“This was unexpected, and appears to have happened so the government would not have to release the unredacted grand jury transcripts that brought these charges in the first place,” Abughazaleh said in a statement she posted to Bluesky on Wednesday afternoon, after the DOJ dropped the conspiracy charge.
“While I still have my trial next month for our misdemeanor charges, this dismissal is not just a win but an enormous weight off my shoulders,” her statement continued. “The psychological and financial toll is immeasurable and one that is becoming too familiar to Americans being targeted by our federal justice system for the mere act of dissent. And while that toll has not disappeared, this win is exactly that: a win. A big one.”
“And we plan to celebrate another win next month when a jury of our peers finds us not guilty,” Abughazaleh added.
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