Judge stunned by DOJ conduct in Illinois anti-ICE protest prosecution dismisses ‘Broadview Six’ charges

All members of the “Broadview Six” group of anti-ICE protestors in Chicago, including former congressional candidate Kat Abughazelah, were cleared of charges on Thursday after alleged misconduct by federal prosecutors came to light in grand jury transcripts, including critical redactions.“Although I am not going to prejudge the issue without a hearing, I will say that I was incredibly shocked by the redactions that were made,” U.S. District Judge April Perry said in scathing remarks during a closed hearing on Thursday. “I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of grand jury transcripts involving prosecutors who are the most junior of prosecutors to several U.S. Attorneys who appeared before the grand jury. I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts.”After the closed hearing, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros announced that all remaining charges against the Six — who were originally indicted in October 2025 for protesting outside the Broadview ICE Detention Center the prior month — had been dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.Related: Indicted Chicago-area progressive MAGA foe falls short in Illinois Democratic U.S. House primaryThe case drew national attention in part because Abughazelah, a progressive political influencer and former congressional candidate, had become a prominent online voice criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies, while the prosecution itself emerged amid escalating federal crackdowns on anti-ICE protests nationwide.An eye-opening transcript of the closed hearing was made public on Thursday night, revealing that Boutros claimed to be “unaware” of much of his office’s alleged misconduct during the grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment, telling Perry, “It is my very sincere belief, Your Honor, that no prosecutor acted intentionally in misleading you, and that there was no desire to mislead the Court and no delibera