CHICAGO — Congressional candidate and digital creator Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh and five co-defendants pleaded not guilty Wednesday on federal charges of conspiring to block a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent from entering ICE’s facility in west suburban Broadview during a protest in September.

Abughazaleh, 26, who is running for the 9th Congressional District seat, was indicted last month along with Cook County Board candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp, 29, 45th Ward Democratic committeeman Michael Rabbit, 62, and Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw, 38 — all of whom are Democrats.

Also charged were Andre Martin, 27, of Providence, Rhode Island, and Joselyn Walsh, 31, of Chicago. It was unclear if they had any personal connection to any of the other defendants.

According to the 11-page indictment, the group surrounded an ICE vehicle outside the Broadview facility during a Sept. 26 protest and “banged aggressively” on the vehicle’s side and back windows, hood, and doors before they “crowded together in the front and side of the Government Vehicle and pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement.”

Prosecutors allege the protesters scratched the vehicle’s body, broke a side mirror and a rear windshield wiper, and etched the word “PIG” into the paint.

The indictment includes the conspiracy count, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in federal prison, as well as several other counts of impeding a federal officer, each punishable by up to one year in federal prison.

The charges have been met by accusations that the Department of Justice was prosecuting free speech and trying to punish political opponents.

Before all six defendants appeared for their arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, dozens of protesters gathered under the red sculpted arches in the Federal Plaza across the outside, chanting “fascist ICE has got to go!” and other slogans in support of those who were indicted.

“We support the Broadview Six!” protesters chanted at one point.

Sharp appeared briefly and hugged supporters.

“They’re doing anything possible to distract, to divide, to attack,” Chicago Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, for whom Sharp has served as chief of staff, said. “The people will continue to show up every single time.”

After the hearing, Abughazaleh is scheduled to hold a rally and news conference in Federal Plaza across the street from the courthouse.

Minutes after the indictment went public last month, Abughazaleh denounced the charges in a statement on social media.

“This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights,” she said. “I’m not backing down, and we’re going to win.”

Sharp’s attorney, Molly Armour, released a statement calling the charges “ludicrous.”

“We are confident that a jury will see them for exactly what they are: an effort by the Trump administration to frighten people out of participating in protest and exercising their First Amendment rights,” she said.

Straw, meanwhile, released a statement through his attorneys, Damon Cheronis and Christopher Parente, blasting the charges as “baseless” and saying he will “continue to stand with and protect our immigrant neighbors.”

“I joined the protests at the Broadview ICE detention facility because of what is happening to our immigrant neighbors: children zip-tied and shoved into vans, mothers pulled from cars on the way to school, neighbors afraid to go to church or work,” Straw’s statement read. “The Trump Justice Department’s decision to seemingly hand-pick public officials like me for standing up against these inhumane policies will not deter me from fulfilling my oath of office.”

Abughazaleh — also known around the internet as “Kat Abu” — has made a name for herself nationally with TikTok videos and on podcasts by blasting veteran Democrats for not doing enough to combat President Donald Trump. She is among a crowded field running to replace U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the 9th Congressional District, which covers part of Chicago’s Far North Side, as well as several north and northwest suburbs.

She has been a frequent participant in protests at the Broadview ICE facility and has made her presence there a key component of her campaign. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, another candidate for the 9th District seat, has also attended the protests. He was not charged.

A video of the incident described in the indictment has been widely circulated online. It shows the immigration agent’s black SUV rolling slowly through a crowd of people as they chant, “up, up with liberation, down, down with deportation!” and other slogans. Abughazaleh is briefly visible wearing a white T-shirt and chanting near the vehicle’s left passenger door, among others, trying to block its movement.

Other protesters were seen banging on the hood and windows of the SUV and slowly backing up as it moved down Harvard Street toward the processing center amid cries of “shame!” The sounds of whistles and thrown plush toys that lodged on the vehicle’s windshield and hood could also be heard and seen.

As the vehicle made it into the parking lot, the sound of pepper spray balls being shot by federal agents could be heard on the video, and the protesters scattered as they exploded around them.

Meanwhile, in another video from a different protest last month, Abughazaleh could be seen being picked up and thrown to the ground by federal agents.

_____

©2025 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.