Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was charged earlier this week with federal conspiracy charges for protesting outside of Broadview ICE Processing Center last month.

Along with five others, Abughazaleh was indicted on felony charges for assaulting and conspiring to injure law enforcement officers. The 11-page indictment alleges the protesters “banged aggressively” on a federal agent’s car and “pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement.” They also allegedly scratched the word “pig” onto the vehicle.

Abughazaleh, a candidate in the Democratic primary for Illinois’s 9th Congressional District, spoke to The Intercept Briefing just days after the charges were unsealed. “This case against me, this indictment, is a clear attack on free speech, freedom of association, the right to protest,” she says. “This indictment is so breathtaking in just how obviously it is trying to criminalize the right to protest. And it’s ludicrous to me that any elected official that’s sworn to protect the Constitution wouldn’t look at it and think, where the hell are we right now?”

At an earlier protest at the same facility, the former journalist was filmed being slammed to the ground by ICE agents. That video went viral sparking outrage, and she’s urging other elected officials to fight back. “I feel like we as citizens are told to do so much — and then our leaders aren’t matching that. Part of it is they’re scared. This is a scary time. And there are threats from the administration, but also supporters. We’ve had a rise in political violence,” Abughazaleh challenges. “And this sounds callous, but you asked hundreds of thousands of people to vote for you. You asked to represent them. This is a job. You need to do your job even if you’re scared, because that’s what people deserve from their leaders.”

The protesters are set to appear in court for their arraignment on November 5. If convicted, they could face up to six years in prison.

Listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Transcript

Jessica Washington: Welcome to The Intercept Briefing, I’m Jessica Washington.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment, charging Illinois congressional candidate and activist Kat Abughazaleh with federal conspiracy charges along with five other demonstrators for protesting outside of Broadview ICE Processing Center.

She now faces up to six years in prison if convicted.

Abughazaleh and her supporters have denounced the indictment as “political prosecution” and an attempt to silence protesters’ First Amendment rights in the wake of an unprecedented assault on civil liberties in Chicago and nationwide. But critics accuse her of playing into Trump’s narrative of lawlessness in majority Democratic cities.

At a time when voters are clamoring for elected officials to stand up to Donald Trump and his growing authoritarianism, Abughazeleh has set herself apart from other Democrats for her willingness to take to the streets and put her body and future on the line.

Joining me now to discuss what’s happening in Chicago and her vision for leadership is Kat Abughazeleh. Kat, welcome to the show.

Kat Abughazaleh: Thank you so much for having me.

JW: On Wednesday, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment which charges you and five other protesters with federal conspiracy for protesting outside of the Broadview Ice Processing Center. While I know you can’t share specific details of the alleged incident, what can you share?

KA: I can share the reason we were protesting. I can share ICE’s reaction to that on the ground. The reason we were protesting in the first place was because of the conditions in the Broadview Processing Center and ICE’s terror campaign in Chicago.

Months ago, we heard about people being held for days or weeks in a facility you’re only supposed to spend a max of 12 hours in without beds, without hot meals, without access to hygienic facilities — and now it’s gotten worse.

We have heard about people being carried out in stretchers, going into cardiac arrest, being denied water. At other facilities, people miscarrying. Of people being given fake translators so they’ll sign their own deportation notices. This is not OK. These are crimes against humanity, and it needs to stop. And ICE’s reaction has been to brutalize protesters, to terrorize Chicago.

“What are they willing to do behind boarded-up windows?”

What I stress to people — especially when they see videos of myself or people around me being tear-gassed or hit or thrown or dragged by ICE — is what we are going through on camera, that’s what they’re willing to do in front of others. What are they willing to do behind boarded-up windows?

JW: Over the last few months, you’ve been noticeably involved in protests more than we typically see from people running for public office. What do you think opponents of Trump should be doing, specifically elected officials?

KA: They need to be out here. They need to be standing with their constituents. The thing about fascism is it doesn’t come for the most powerful political figures, the elected officials first. It comes for 238 men who are

© The Intercept