Chicago drops ICE protest charges

U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros on May 21 dropped all remaining federal charges against four anti-ICE protesters in the Chicago-area case known as the “Broadview Six,” days before trial was due to begin. The dismissals followed a closed-door hearing in federal court in Chicago over redacted grand-jury transcripts and prosecutors’ conduct before the grand jury. U.S. District Judge April Perry said in that hearing that she was “incredibly shocked” by what she saw in the transcripts and said sanctions could be on the table. The case had become one of the highest-profile protest prosecutions tied to the Trump administration’s Chicago-area immigration enforcement push known as Operation Midway Blitz. ### Why did prosecutors abandon the case just before trial? Thursday’s dismissal came after Perry reviewed unredacted grand-jury materials that defense lawyers had pressed to see, according to the hearing transcript described by local outlets and Bloomberg Law. Boutros then appeared personally in court to say his office would dismiss the remaining misdemeanor charges. Jury selection had been scheduled to start the following week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. (news.wttw.com) Boutros told Perry he had not known until April about some of the problems in the grand-jury proceedings, Bloomberg Law reported. He also apologized in court and said a prosecutor had engaged in improper “vouching” for the strength of the evidence, ABC7 Chicago reported. ### What did Judge April Perry say was wrong with the grand-jury process? (news.wttw.com) Perry said the conduct shown in the transcripts was unlike anything she had seen in reviewing “hundreds, if not thousands” of grand-jury transcripts, according to WTTW’s account of the unsealed hearing transcript. She said prosecutors appeared to have engaged in conduct including improper “vouching,” and she said the redactions submitted to her had hidden evidence of that behavior. (abc7chicago.com) Bloomberg Law reported that Perry said there was a potential case for sanctions against the prosecutors involved. In the same hearing, she said, “That trust has been broken,” referring to the court’s expectation that government lawyers present grand-jury materials candidly. ### Who were the remaining defendants when the case collapsed? (news.wttw.com) The four defendants still facing charges were former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, Oak Park Village Board Trustee Brian Straw and Andre Martin, WTTW reported. Prosecutors had already dropped charges against two of the original six defendants and had earlier removed the top conspiracy count against the remaining four. (news.bloomberglaw.com) The charges accused protesters of impeding a federal officer during a demonstration outside the ICE facility in Broadview, a Chicago suburb. Bloomberg Law said the case centered on allegations that protesters blocked an officer from driving toward the facility. ### How unusual was Boutros’ appearance in court? ABC7 Chicago reported that Boutros’ personal appearance to dismiss the case was highly unusual for a U.S. attorney. (news.wttw.com) Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer told the station such appearances happen only rarely at that level. At the later public hearing, Boutros also defended the original charging decision even as he dismissed the case, according to Bloomberg Law. (news.bloomberglaw.com) Perry pushed back after he described what might have happened if the ICE agent had panicked, telling him he was undercutting his own apology by continuing to vilify the defendants. ### What happens next for the prosecutors and the court record? (abc7chicago.com) Thursday’s hearing transcript was unsealed after media organizations argued for public access, ABC7 Chicago reported. WTTW reported that Perry agreed to unseal the transcript of the morning hearing where the grand-jury materials were discussed, though the grand-jury transcripts themselves had not yet been released. (news.bloomberglaw.com) Possible sanctions against the prosecutors remain the next concrete issue in the case. Perry raised that possibility in the unsealed hearing, and the public record now includes Boutros, Perry, and defense lawyers who have accused the government of misconduct and concealment. (abc7chicago.com) (news.wttw.com)