A Democratic candidate from Illinois, running for Congress, has shared a video on social media that appears to show incidents outlined in a federal indictment. The indictment accuses her of obstructing actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old who identifies herself as a “Gen Z influencer,” has dismissed the charges as a “political prosecution.” She maintains that her actions were protected under the First Amendment and did not break any laws.
In a statement posted on X, she asserted, “I have been indicted by the Department of Justice. This is a political prosecution targeting our First Amendment rights. I refuse to back down, and we will prevail.”
On September 26, 2025, Democratic hopeful Kat Abughazaleh was seen using a megaphone outside the Broadview ICE processing center. (Reuters/Jim Vondruska)
The protest occurred at ICE’s Broadview Service Staging Area near Chicago, where federal prosecutors claim she was part of a group that surrounded a law enforcement vehicle. The crowd allegedly blocked the vehicle with their bodies, while others vandalized it by inscribing “PIG” on it and removing a mirror and windshield wiper.
WATCH: Illinois Democrat posts video of ICE protest that led to her federal indictment
The indictment specifically charges Abughazaleh with participating in the blockade around 7:45 a.m. on that day.
“ABUGHAZALEH joined the crowd at the front of the Government Vehicle, and with her hands on the hood braced her body and hands against the vehicle while remaining directly in the path of the vehicle, hindering and impeding Agent A and the vehicle from proceeding to the [staging area],” the indictment reads.
The video appears to show just that, with Abughazaleh at the head of the crowd, leaning into the front of the unmarked vehicle, a black SUV with flashing lights.
Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh protests at an ICE processing center Sept. 26, 2025, near Chicago. (Reuters/Jim Vondruska)
Abughazaleh bills herself as a radical progressive Democrat whose platform includes a wealth tax on rich Americans, a $25 minimum wage and “an immediate pathway to citizenship for DREAMers and other undocumented immigrants.” Her hobbies include knitting and playing video games, according to her website.
Read the indictment:
She has also vehemently opposed the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants. In a televised interview earlier this month, she told former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki that she thinks Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “should be tried at the Hague” — a reference to the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.
Abughazaleh faces two counts under a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday: conspiracy to prevent a law enforcement officer from discharging his duties and forcibly impeding, intimidating and interfering with a federal officer. Five other people at the protest were also charged.
A protester wearing an American flag face covering stands opposite Cook County Sheriffs outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Ill., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Two of them are also involved in local politics: Michael Rabbitt, a Democratic committee person in Chicago’s 45th Ward, and Catherine Sharp, a candidate for the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
The Gen Z candidate is running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District seat to replace outgoing 81-year-old Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who is retiring after holding the office since 1999.
