Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh and five fellow Broadview demonstrators could face trial this spring on a federal conspiracy charge tied to Operation Midway Blitz that continues to raise questions about protesters’ First Amendment rights.Attorneys in the case sought a trial date Wednesday during a status hearing before U.S. District Judge April Perry. They did so less than a week after a separate case tied to the feds’ aggressive immigration campaign ended with a high-profile jury acquittal.A trial in Perry’s courtroom likely wouldn’t move forward until after the March 17 primary, when Abughazaleh is seeking the Democratic nomination in Illinois’ 9th District. She is one of four Democratic politicians charged in the conspiracy case. The trial is more likely to take place in late May or June. Related Broadview conspiracy defendants want to see if White House played a role in their case “Having this hanging over her head is a tremendous weight to be fighting on both fronts right now,” said Josh Herman, Abughazaleh’s defense attorney, after the hearing.Catherine “Cat” Sharp, another defendant, suspended her campaign for the Cook County Board this month to focus on her legal defense. Also charged are Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw, 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin and musician Joselyn Walsh.The six are among 32 known defendants to be charged with nonimmigration crimes tied to the federal deportation campaign in Chicago’s federal court. Fifteen of those defendants have already been cleared.No one has been convicted. Catherine “Cat” Sharp stands in Federal Plaza on the day of her arraignment in the Broadview conspiracy case, Nov. 12, 2025.Arthur Maiorella/For the Sun-Times Supporters of the six Broadview conspiracy defendants packed Perry’s 17th-floor courtroom Wednesday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. The judge did not set a specific trial date. Rather, lawyers said they would contact her staff with possible dates once they’ve had a chance to review their calendars.Herman told reporters after court that the trial could expose “one more overreach” by the Trump administration.“This overreach is the misuse of this conspiracy statute against demonstrators exercising their First Amendment rights,” Herman said.An 11-page indictment alleges that, while an agent drove a vehicle toward a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Sept. 26, the six defendants and others surrounded it. Members of the crowd allegedly banged on the vehicle, pushed against it, scratched it and even etched the word “PIG” onto it. This YouTube video appears to show Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh and others trying to slow the approach of a federal vehicle toward an immigration holding facility in Broadview.YouTube/BG On The Scene The crowd allegedly broke a side mirror and a rear windshield wiper and forced the agent “to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed.”However, defense attorneys have signaled that a key issue at trial could be the agent’s “decision and motivation to drive his vehicle into a crowd of more than 50 individuals who were peacefully protesting the documented atrocities occurring inside the Broadview facility.”They’ve noted that no other protester has faced criminal charges for such conduct. They say progressive politics and criticism of the Trump administration “are the only ties that bind” the six defendants.The group might ask Perry to dismiss the case on First Amendment grounds, Herman said in court. Straw attorney Chris Parente also told the judge to expect a motion for selective prosecution. Related Federal jury rejects Bovino murder plot after attorney calls on panel to ‘stop the overreaching government’ So far, only one federal prosecution tied to the federal deportation campaign has gone to trial. A jury last week acquitted Juan Espinoza Martinez, the Little Village man who had been accused of offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.Federal authorities originally accused Espinoza Martinez of being a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings street gang, but prosecutors eventually acknowledged they would not try to prove his gang membership.Another defendant in the deportation campaign, Erik Meier, faces trial March 9 on a misdemeanor charge of resisting federal officers.Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg predicted Wednesday that it could take three days for prosecutors to lay out their case against the six Broadview conspiracy defendants.Part of the discussion in Perry’s courtroom centered on a protective order, which would govern the handling of evidence in the case. Martin attorney Terence Campbell complained about a version of that order proposed by prosecutors. Related Woman shot by Border Patrol in Chicago asks judge to let her release evidence Campbell told Perry she didn’t need “to look any farther than the last 2½ weeks of news” to know it’s important to understand “how federal law enforcement officers for ICE and Homeland Security are behaving.”The attorney seemed to be referencing events in Minneapolis, including the fatal shootings of Renee Macklin Good and Illinois native Alex Pretti by federal agents.“This is clearly a case of public interest and public importance,” Campbell said.Mecklenburg agreed with him that, “This is political, and this is campaigns.“And I would like to try the case in the courtroom, and not in the media,” Mecklenburg said.That prompted Parente to point to a news release about the case issued by U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office. It not only quoted Boutros — Mecklenburg’s boss — but Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer of President Donald Trump.High-ranking Justice Department officials like Blanche are not typically quoted in local news releases.Perry assured Parente, “Your indignation is noted for the record.” ...read more read less