🔗 Share this article Progressive Congressional Candidate Charged For Chicago ICE Demonstrations Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive hopeful for Congress, faces federal charges over charges related to her participation in protests outside a federal immigration center near the Chicago area last fall. Details of the Indictment Federal court documents, filed last week, allege this twenty-six-year-old Palestinian American political figure along with five others “physically hindered and impeded” an officer that was “compelled to proceed very slowly” to avoid injuring any of the conspirators. Abughazaleh, campaigning for Illinois’s ninth congressional district, was charged with plotting to obstruct a federal officer as well as hindering the agent during the execution of their duties. Alleged Actions During Protest According to the indictment, those involved “planned together with others” to prevent by force, intimidation, and threat, Agent A, from discharging the duties of his office. Prosecutors claim that Abughazaleh, together with the group, “banged aggressively” on the agent’s vehicle, “crowded together in the front and side” of the vehicle and also “pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement”. The charging documents state that the group etched the word “pig” on to the vehicle and damaged a side mirror and rear wiper. It also alleged that Abughazaleh specifically “positioned herself with others in front of the official car”, and with her hands on the hood braced her body and hands against the vehicle while remaining directly in the path of the vehicle, obstructing and blocking the agent. Defendant’s Statement Following the indictment, the congressional candidate, who is known for her large social media platform, called the indictment “a politically motivated case”. “This is a … gross attempt at silencing dissent, a right protected under the first amendment. This case is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those who dare to speak up. That’s why I’m going to fight these unjust charges,” she said. Abughazaleh added: “While we were practicing our First Amendment rights, immigration officers have struck, pulled, thrown, fired pepper balls at, and used tear gas on numerous demonstrators, including me. Merely because we dared to assert that hooded individuals seizing our neighbors and frightening our community should not become routine. “This case targets our rights to protest, speak freely, and associate with anyone who disagrees with this government … I’ve spent my career fighting America’s backwards slide towards fascism and I’m not going to give up now,” she continued. Wider Implications The indictment comes as the Trump administration ramps up federal immigration raids across numerous progressive cities including Chicago – an action that has drawn strong condemnation from regional and state officials. These operations have faced broad resistance from citizens, Democratic members of Congress, and advocacy organizations, with the ACLU describing them as a “build out of a national paramilitary policing force that could be used to … consolidate President Donald Trump’s power”.