Federal prosecutors Wednesday unexpectedly dropped the controversial conspiracy charge at the heart of their case against the remaining members of the “Broadview Six” but stopped short of fully clearing the four Operation Midway Blitz protesters who still face trial in May.The surprise move in o ne of the most well-known cases to emerge from Midway Blitz transforms a high-stakes felony prosecution into a misdemeanor matter, with each of the four defendants now looking at a maximum penalty of one year in prison if convicted of forcibly impeding a federal agent.The conspiracy charge dropped by prosecutors carried a maximum of six years in prison. Related ‘We will win': Six Broadview protesters plead not guilty to conspiracy, decry attack on First Amendment Still, the circumstances raise questions about grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment in the first place. That’s because, by dropping the conspiracy charge, the feds avoided turning over unredacted transcripts of those proceedings to U.S. District Judge April Perry.The judge decided she no longer needed to see them.Charged are former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw, 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt and Andre Martin, a member of Abughazaleh’s campaign staff.Their defense attorneys made clear they have no plans to back down. They said they still want to see the grand jury transcripts, despite customary secrecy around such proceedings. Kat Abughazaleh appears in this screenshot of footage from outside an immigration holding facility in Broadview. Abughazaleh and three others were charged in a conspiracy to impede a federal agent outside the facility.Provided “Why can’t we see them?” Straw attorney Christopher Parente said after court. “Why can’t the people of this district know what the government said to that grand jury?”The feds’ surprise move “seemed designed to avoid disclosing grand jury transcripts” and confirmed the “misguided charges should have never been brought,” said Abughazaleh attorney Joshua Herman.The remaining charges “are baseless and not supported by the law or evidence,” Rabbitt attorney Nancy DePodesta added. She joined Parente and Herman in promising to continue the fight, as did Martin attorneys Terence Campbell and Valerie Davenport.“Protesting the malicious violence, mistreatment and discrimination committed by [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents … is not a crime, pure and simple,” Martin’s attorneys said. Related Tracking every known federal prosecution in Chicago tied to Trump’s deportation blitz U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said his office “is constantly evaluating the facts and law in our Operation Midway Blitz cases, as well as new information when it is brought to our attention.”“Today in court, we demonstrated that we are fully prepared to adjust our positions to adhere to that standard,” Boutros said. “Our commitment to do the right thing is unwavering in all cases.”The secrecy that cloaks grand jury proceedings could be difficult to pierce in the Broadview Six case, especially because prosecutors are taking the original indictment out of play. The feds plan to proceed instead with a charging document known as an information, an option available to them because the remaining charges are misdemeanors. Related Cook County Board candidate suspends campaign to fight indictment: ‘A decision I needed to make’ The case revolves around events on the morning of Sept. 26 outside the ICE holding facility in suburban Broadview. The defendants are accused of joining a group that surrounded an ICE agent’s vehicle and pushed, scratched and otherwise damaged it.Former Cook County Board candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp and musician Joselyn Walsh were also originally charged in the case, but their charges were dropped in March.Questions about the right to free speech and assembly began to swirl as soon as the conspiracy charge was made public. Defense attorneys also raised questions about undue White House influence, given past commentary by Trump allies about Abughazaleh, in particular.The feds denied any White House involvement. Boutros has also said politics plays no role in decision-making in his office.But earlier this month, defense attorneys made a “narrow” request to review only the portions of grand jury transcripts that showed how prosecutors explained the conspiracy law to the grand jury. Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw leaves the Dirksen Federal Courthouse after a hearing in the so-called “Broadview Six” case on Thursday, March 19, 2026.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Alternatively, they suggested prosecutors turn transcripts over to Perry so the judge could conduct her own review. The judge agreed to give them a look, and prosecutors filed transcripts, under seal, of grand jury appearances from Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and Oct. 23.The original indictment was handed up Oct. 23.The feds filed the transcripts April 23. The next day, the judge entered an order scheduling Wednesday’s hearing. She also told prosecutors “to bring to the hearing fully un-redacted versions of the transcripts [they had] filed under seal … as well as a copy of any presentation(s) or document(s) shown to the grand jurors summarizing the law.”But moments into Wednesday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan disclosed the feds’ plan to drop the conspiracy charge and file a new charging document. Perry wound up denying the defense motion for grand jury transcripts as moot — meaning there was no meaningful question left for her to consider, and therefore no reason to read the transcripts. Related Broadview 4? Feds drop conspiracy charges against 2 ICE protesters, including Dem who ended campaign Defense attorneys said they were caught off guard by the feds’ news. Perry seemed to be, too. She went on to deny a defense bid to dismiss the conspiracy count based on the First Amendment — which protects the freedom of speech, press, religion and to assemble — while acknowledging that question might also be “moot.”However, after prosecutors said they might still use anti-ICE chants caught on video as evidence, the judge told them to file a new motion outlining their basis for doing so.Perry ultimately pushed a pretrial conference in the case back five days, until May 18.But the trial remains set for May 26. ...read more read less