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A congressional candidate and former journalist who made headlines of her own after tussling with authorities at ICE protests has been indicted by the Justice Department.
Kat Abughazaleh, who has been filmed being slammed to the ground by an ICE agent and claims she was struck in the face with a baton by a cop during protests in Broadview, was slapped with the indictment, filed in Illinois District Court last week.
The indictment charges that Abughazaleh, who is running for Congress in the Land of Lincoln’s 9th district, and six others “physically hindered and impeded” an agent who was “forced to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed to avoid injuring any of the conspirators,” NBC News reported.
Speaking out on her social media channels on Wednesday, Abughazaleh slammed the federal charges as an effort to “criminalize protests.”
“This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment,” she said. “This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protests and punish anyone who speaks out against them. That’s why I’m going to fight these unjust charges.”
Abughazaleh is due in court for arraignment on Nov. 5.
The post Illinois Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh, Twice Roughed Up During ICE Protests, Indicted by DOJ first appeared on Mediaite.
