Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was charged earlier this week with federal conspiracy charges for protesting outside of Broadview ICE Processing Center last month.
Along with five others, Abughazaleh was indicted on felony charges for assaulting and conspiring to injure law enforcement officers. The 11-page indictment alleges the protesters “banged aggressively” on a federal agent’s car and “pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement.” They also allegedly scratched the word “pig” onto the vehicle.
Abughazaleh, a candidate in the Democratic primary for Illinois’s 9th Congressional District, spoke to The Intercept Briefing just days after the charges were unsealed. “This case against me, this indictment, is a clear attack on free speech, freedom of association, the right to protest,” she says. “This indictment is so breathtaking in just how obviously it is trying to criminalize the right to protest. And it’s ludicrous to me that any elected official that’s sworn to protect the Constitution wouldn’t look at it and think, where the hell are we right now?”
At an earlier protest at the same facility, the former journalist was filmed being slammed to the ground by ICE agents. That video went viral sparking outrage, and she’s urging other elected officials to fight back. “I feel like we as citizens are told to do so much — and then our leaders aren’t matching that. Part of it is they’re scared. This is a scary time. And there are threats from the administration, but also supporters. We’ve had a rise in political violence,” Abughazaleh challenges. “And this sounds callous, but you asked hundreds of thousands of people to vote for you. You asked to represent them. This is a job. You need to do your job even if you’re scared, because that’s what people deserve from their leaders.”
The protesters are set to appear in court for their arraignment on November 5. If convicted, they could face up to six years in prison.
Listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Transcript
Jessica Washington: Welcome to The Intercept Briefing, I’m Jessica Washington.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment, charging Illinois congressional candidate and activist Kat Abughazaleh with federal conspiracy charges along with five other demonstrators for protesting outside of Broadview ICE Processing Center.
She now faces up to six years in prison if convicted.
Abughazaleh and her supporters have denounced the indictment as “political prosecution” and an attempt to silence protesters’ First Amendment rights in the wake of an unprecedented assault on civil liberties in Chicago and nationwide. But critics accuse her of playing into Trump’s narrative of lawlessness in majority Democratic cities.
At a time when voters are clamoring for elected officials to stand up to Donald Trump and his growing authoritarianism, Abughazeleh has set herself apart from other Democrats for her willingness to take to the streets and put her body and future on the line.