Four of the “Broadview Six” Set for Trial in Chicago Federal Court on May 26
Kat Abughazaleh, Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin and Brian Straw are accused by the federal government of forming a “spontaneous conspiracy” outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois last September.
The federal indictment against the remaining four defendants of the original “Broadview Six” alleges that they conspired to interrupt, hinder and impede an ICE agent in the “discharge of his official duties.”
Charges also include simple misdemeanor assault of a federal officer, which does not require physical contact – prosecutors are alleging the agent’s vehicle was assaulted and “injured,” forcing him to drive at a “slower rate of speed.”
However, as the defense will demonstrate, it was the ICE agent who drove directly into the crowd of protestors engaged in a “Jericho Walk,” dangerously turning his vehicle directly into the crowd.
The future of political freedom in America is on trial in North Texas
Months before the U.S. government labeled Alex Pretti and Renee Good “domestic terrorists”, the FBI was celebrating the 19 arrests following the July 4th Prairieland noise demo as its first “Antifa” domestic terrorism case. Against the backdrop of a national movement, the Prairieland defendants went on trial for protesting ICE at the detention facility currently imprisoning Palestinian protestor Leqaa Kordia and over 700 other detainees.
Nine of the Prairieland Defendants were recently convicted, but defense lawyers have filed motions for Judgments of Acquittal and New Trial, based in part on allegations of juror misconduct.
Joselyn Walsh is a musician in Chicago, Illinois, the only non-politico of the “Broadview Six.”
Joselyn joined others outside the Broadview ICE facility to protest beginning in fall 2025, always bringing her guitar or trumpet to perform protest songs with other organizers.
While playing her guitar and singing on September 26, ICE agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters. A large ‘non-lethal’ baton round ripped through Josie’s guitar, leaving a welt on her hip. If that projectile had hit her body directly, much more serious injury was possible – a protestor in Minneapolis lost an eye because of a similar round.
Joselyn was surprised weeks later when she got a series of calls from the Chicago district office of the FBI. She called the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) who contacted the Bureau on her behalf and discovered that she had been named in a federal indictment and charged with a felony.
The charges brought against Joselyn are a clear, desperate attempt by the federal government to rewrite and control the narrative after shooting her. The “conspiracy” she is alleged to have taken part in involves five other people she had never met or spoken to before they were charged together.
Contextualizing the case against the Broadview Six
The Trump regime has been very active in the Chicago court system over the last year, bringing dozens of cases against protestors and citizens who themselves were directly harmed by ICE. Marimar Martinez, a woman who survived ICE agents shooting her five times, recently visited Capitol Hill after an investigation found that the feds deliberately lied about the evidence they were using to attempt her prosecution.
DHS continues to illegally detain people, including US citizens, in Chicago.
Elected officials, clergy, and medical personnel are routinely denied their legal access to detained individuals. Families are intentionally kept in the dark about their loved ones’ whereabouts as detainees are surreptitiously trafficked across state lines and denied phone calls.
Federal prosecutors usually have a conviction rate over 90%.
Right now, the Trump regime is floundering. They’re only managing a conviction rate of 45% in Chicago courts. The pressure is on an administration that is trying and failing to paint protestors in a negative light.