Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive candidate running for Congress, has been indicted on charges related to involvement in protests outside a federal immigration center in the vicinity of the Chicago area in September.
The Federal Charges
The indictment, submitted recently, allege this 26-year old Palestinian American political figure along with five others “obstructed and blocked” a federal agent that was “forced to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed” to prevent harm to the protesters.
The candidate, campaigning for Illinois’s ninth congressional district, faces counts of plotting to obstruct a federal officer and assaulting or impeding the agent while they were performing official duties.
Alleged Actions During Protest
As stated in court papers, those involved “conspired with one another and others” to stop through intimidation and force, Agent A, from discharging the duties of his office.
It alleged that Abughazaleh, together with the group, “banged aggressively” on the agent’s vehicle, “gathered closely around the front and side” of the car and “pressed on the car to block its progress”.
According to the indictment that the group scratched the term “pig” onto the car and damaged a side mirror and rear wiper.
Additionally, it is claimed 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 staying directly in the car’s way, hindering and impeding the officer.
Response from the Candidate
Following the indictment, the congressional candidate, recognized for her substantial online following, labeled the charges “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 is the reason I will contest these unfair allegations,” she stated.
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. Simply because we had the gall to say masked men abducting our neighbors and terrorizing our community cannot be the new normal.
“This prosecution aims at our freedoms to demonstrate, express opinions, and connect with those who oppose government actions … 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.
The raids have drawn widespread opposition from the public, congressional Democratic lawmakers and civil rights groups, 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”.