Trump administration charges influencer and congressional candidate over ICE protests

Kat Abughazaleh, who has announced a run for Illinois' 9th Congressional District, carries gait signs into her run office

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Palestinian American and Democratic campaigner for Congress successful the 9th District of Illinois, has been indicted by the Department of Justice connected charges connected to protests extracurricular an ICE facility. The indictment alleges that Abughazaleh and a fistful of different protesters conspired connected the greeting of September 26th to forestall an ICE cause “from discharging the duties of his office, and to injure him successful his idiosyncratic oregon property.”

The indictment accuses Abughazaleh and the different protesters named successful it of banging connected an ICE agent’s car and attempting to halt it from entering an ICE installation by physically surrounding it, scratching the connection “PIG” into the car, breaking a broadside mirror, and breaking disconnected a rear windshield wiper. As MSNBC reports, different defendants see Michael Rabbitt, a Cook County Democratic Committee member, and Cat Sharp, a campaigner for the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and the charges of assaulting an serviceman tin transportation situation sentences of up to 8 years.

A video of Abughazaleh being thrown to the ground by an ICE cause extracurricular the Broadview installation went viral successful September, and connected the aforesaid greeting arsenic the incidental cited successful the indictment, she posted a video connected X of her and different protesters surrounding an ICE vehicle. 

As MSNBC notes, successful caller weeks, right-wing accounts person repeatedly posted astir her videos, calling for her to beryllium arrested and tagging US Attorney General Pam Bondi. At the aforesaid time, Trump has said that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson should beryllium jailed for allegedly “failing to protect” ICE officers. The Trump Administration has besides charged oregon threatened transgression charges against others who’ve opposed his agenda, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and New York mayoral campaigner Zohran Mamdani.

Abughazaleh, who has a inheritance arsenic a writer and influencer connected societal media channels similar Twitch, posted a video contiguous responding to the indictment, stating:

“This is simply a governmental prosecution, and a gross effort to soundlessness dissent, a close protected nether the First Amendment. This lawsuit is simply a large propulsion by the Trump medication to criminalize protestation and punish anyone who speaks retired against them. That’s wherefore I’m going to combat these unjust charges.”

Abughazaleh goes connected to enactment that “ICE has hit, dragged, thrown, changeable with capsicum balls, and teargassed hundreds of protesters.” She besides calls retired the Trump medication for “weaponizing the national justness system” to scare protesters, but vows “we’re not going to beryllium silent.” 

“This lawsuit targets our rights to protest, talk freely, and subordinate with anyone who disagrees with the government.”