‘Broadview 6’ defense accuses feds of keeping grand jury transcripts secret

Attorneys for the remaining “Broadview Six” immigration protesters charged in October say federal prosecutors are abusing their power in order to keep secret what they told the grand jury that indicted them, including on a rare conspiracy count.

The accusations, contained in a pair of motions filed this week, follow the government lawyers’ surprise move last week when they told the judge overseeing the case that they intend to drop the main conspiracy charge against the four remaining defendants.

While defense attorneys characterized it as a “win” for their clients, they also suggested the feds’ unexpected move was a strategic way to avoid having to hand over unredacted transcripts of the grand jury’s three meetings prior to delivering an indictment.

U.S. District Judge April Perry had called an April 29 hearing to examine the grand jury transcripts, but just as she was asking prosecutors if they objected to them being provided to the defendants, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan told the judge she’d “find that is moot” as prosecutors were moving to dismiss the conspiracy count. The conspiracy charge was the only felony in the indictment, and grand juries do not generally consider misdemeanor charges.

But defense attorneys now say prosecutors have gone back on their word and are trying to “have its cake and eat it, too” by holding off on officially moving to drop the conspiracy charge until after the trial on the remaining misdemeanor charges, scheduled for May 26.

“The Section 372 felony conspiracy charge continues to hang over the defendants like the proverbial Sword of Damocles,” the motion states, going on to speculate that prosecutors could later reverse course and “prosecute them for this conspiracy charge it now says it wants to leave pending (at least for the foreseeable future).”

One motion filed Monday asked Perry to dismiss the conspiracy charges, while the other renewed defendants’ demand to see the grand jury transcripts. The judge on Tuesday scheduled an early morning hearing in the case Thursday.

Defense attorneys argue that leaving the conspiracy charge up in the air “dramatically impacts the trial,” including how trial strategy is shaped.

They argue there are only “three plausible explanations” for why the government would want to keep the grand jury transcripts secret: that prosecutors “mis-instructed” the grand jury on the law; “failed to instruct the grand jury on the law at all”; or said something to the grand jury that was “otherwise improper or prejudicial.”

“These actions only underscore the growing concern that the grand jury is being wielded not as an instrument of justice, but as a tool of unchecked prosecutorial power meant to persecute any perceived enemies of the current White House,” the motion states.

The case stems from a Sept. 26, 2025, demonstration outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview.

Social media video of the protest posted by influencer-turned-congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh captured the moment she and dozens of others surrounded an ICE vehicle that drove through the demonstrating crowd, banging on its windows.

A month later, Abughazaleh and five others were indicted on a felony conspiracy charge that alleged they conspired to “interrupt, hinder, and impede” a federal immigration agent from the “discharge of his official duties.” They were also charged with misdemeanor simple assault of a federal officer, which does not require physical contact.

The feds dropped charges against two defendants in March. The remaining four defendants include Abughazaleh; her deputy campaign manager, Andre Martin; Chicago 45th Ward Democratic Committeeman Michael Rabbitt; and Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw.