"hoping to build her large social media following into a platform to elected office. In September, she was in a viral video being tear-gassed and slammed to the ground by an ICE agent during protests outside an ICE facility in Broadview, a Chicago suburb. Earlier this month, Abughazaleh was again among protesters at the Broadview ICE facility and said that she was struck in the face with a baton by a police officer."
"Wednesday, Abughazaleh posted a video announcing that she had been indicted by the DOJ in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, slamming the charges as a political prosecution and an attack on her First Amendment rights. She is charged with two counts: conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and forcibly impeding, intimidating, or interfering with a federal law enforcement officer while engaged in official duties."
"It was surreal to see her own name on the indictment, Abughazaleh said, and this definitely was not something she expected to happen. She said that she plan[ned] on pleading not guilty, calling it a political prosecution plain and simple and an effort to criminalize free speech, an effort to criminalize free association, and an effort to criminalize the very act of protest."
Kat Abughazaleh, 26, is a Democratic candidate for Illinois' 9th congressional district. She participated in protests at a Broadview ICE facility, where she was tear-gassed and slammed to the ground in a viral September video and later said she was struck in the face with a baton. The Department of Justice indicted her on two counts: conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and forcibly impeding, intimidating, or interfering with a federal law enforcement officer. She plans to plead not guilty and called the charges a political prosecution violating First Amendment rights. A live Substack and YouTube interview ended when she walked out.
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