Remaining ‘Broadview Six’ protesters set for rare federal misdemeanor trial next week

Prosecutors are set to try the remaining “Broadview Six” immigration protesters in a rare federal misdemeanor trial next week, after a lengthy pretrial conference this week ironed out final details right down to the configuration of defense tables in the courtroom.

The trial is scheduled to begin after Memorial Day and run for two weeks. But defense attorneys still hope it might be avoided after U.S. District Judge April Perry agreed to read unredacted grand jury transcripts.

Lawyers for the defendants, including former congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, have all but accused prosecutors of misconduct in the three separate grand jury sessions this fall that led to their clients’ October indictment.

The grand jury indicted the original six defendants on a count of felony conspiracy for their involvement in a late September protest outside a federal immigration facility in west suburban Broadview for allegedly conspiring to “interrupt, hinder, and impede” a federal immigration agent. They were also each charged with individual misdemeanor counts, which are not charged by a grand jury.

But after dropping all charges against two of the defendants in March, prosecutors made another surprise move when they decided to drop the conspiracy charge. While defense attorneys framed 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 grand jury transcripts.

Finally on Monday, the judge agreed to take a look at the transcripts at the urging of Chris Parente, an attorney for defendant Brian Straw, who serves as an Oak Park village trustee. Parente suggested that even the smallest untoward comment could’ve “tainted” the grand jury process.

Perry denied a request from both government and defense lawyers for a jury field trip during trial. Both argued it would be beneficial for the jury to see the intersection outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview.

But the judge balked, citing concerns over it becoming a spectacle that would draw a crowd of protesters, which could taint the jury.

“To blow a half a day on this, I think, is not a great use of time and taxpayer money,” Perry said, pointing out that the site of the incident was merely “an intersection” and “not an exotic locale they’ve never seen before.”

The case stems from a Sept. 26, 2025, demonstration outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, which at the time was the epicenter of protests against the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”

Social media video of the protest posted by Abughazaleh, an influencer-turned-congressional candidate, captured the moment she and dozens of others surrounded an ICE vehicle that drove through the crowd, banging on its windows. Others charged include Abughazaleh’s deputy campaign manager, Andre Martin, and Chicago 45th Ward Democratic Committeeman Michael Rabbitt.

The vehicle’s windshield wipers were damaged and someone scratched “PIG” into its side, authorities said.