’Broadview 6’ case dropped against 45th Ward committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, other defendants; judge dismayed at actions of prosecutors 

by BRIAN NADIG

The case against the remaining four “Broadview Six” defendants, including 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, has been dropped.

Rabbitt, an Edgebrook area resident, has called for the resignation of U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros after the judge expressed dismay in how the prosecution handled grand jury proceedings.

The defendants faced conspiracy and impeding a federal agent charges in connection with a protest on Sept. 26, 2025, outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview.

Prosecutors had dropped charges against Cat Sharp and Jocelyn Walsh earlier, and later dropped the conspiracy charge against the other four, which are former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, Rabbitt, Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw and Andre Martin.

The four had been set to go to trial on a lesser charge this month, but at a May 21 court hearing, the case ended after prosecutors dropped that charge in what was described by many of the state’s top officials as politically motivated and baseless.

“This case was clearly about Trump and his Department of Justice’s campaign of retribution against Democrats and Chicago. Trump and his authoritarian regime have weaponized the federal government against its own people — an extraordinary abuse of power,” said Rabbitt, who is serving his first term as committeeperson.

“The Trump administration is trying to silence us. To create fear. To break us so we won’t speak up. But they won’t succeed. We are winning.
“This U.S. Attorney’s office made multiple false statements against me during this case. They were forced to drop the bogus, ridiculous conspiracy charged based on their actions before the grand jury, and now they’ve dropped the remaining charge as well after their misconduct was exposed.

“For this, and for wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on this case, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros must resign immediately,” Rabbitt said in a statement.

Rabbitt said that he is proud to have protested against the actions of ICE in Broadview. The justice department accused some protestors of impeding a vehicle driven by a federal agent, but Rabbitt said that those charges were false and the agent was driving recklessly through a crowd.

“I was determined to show up at Broadview and speak out against the unjust and inhumane conditions there. I was proud to stand up for communities that were terrorized by ICE, and neighbors who were kidnapped and disappeared by ICE.

“As the son of an immigrant, I was proud to fight for the human rights of immigrants, here in Chicago and everywhere. We cannot stand idly by when witnessing injustice. We have a moral responsibility to stand up to the corrupt, immoral and destructive actions of the Trump administration,” Rabbitt said.

Judge April Perry had unkind words for prosecutors, who submitted to her transcripts of the grand jury proceedings with redactions that the judge described as inappropriate. A transcript of the hearing was later released.

“I will say that having reviewed the grand jury transcripts myself in full and unredacted form, there are significantly bigger problems than misinstructions to the grand jurors. Although I am not going to prejudge the issue without a hearing, I will say that I was incredibly shocked by the redactions that were made.

“I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of grand jury transcripts involving prosecutors who are the most junior of prosecutors to several U.S. Attorneys who appeared before the grand jury. I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts,” Perry said.

Perry added, “At a high-level summary for the defendants, who do not have the benefit of having seen the transcripts yet, several potential issues jumped out at me immediately and glaringly.

“First, improper prosecutorial vouching to the grand jurors, with the AUSA putting her personal credibility and trustworthiness on the line in support of the charges.

“Second, improper prosecutorial communications of a substantive nature with the grand jurors outside of the grand jury room.

“And, third, the prosecutor excusing grand jurors who disagreed with the government’s case from the deliberations process.

“Which brings me to problem Number 4, which is the fact that all of this was redacted out of the versions of the transcripts that I got. And frankly, it is that that I find the most problematic.

“Mistakes happen. They happen to all of us. But as I tell my children, you own it. You admit to it. You apologize for it, and you move on. What you do not do is hide it.”

Perry suggested that a hearing on “vindictive prosecution” could be warranted in the case.

“(The justice department’s) sole goal is to do justice. Your client is justice itself. I do believe deeply in the presumption of regularity and that most government attorneys are doing the best they can to do the right thing. That trust has been broken,” Perry said.

In a statement, Rabbitt added the following about the case:

“Fighting these charges over the past seven months has been incredibly draining emotionally and financially. But it’s what is required in this moment. I’m proud that, despite the toll it has taken on us and our families, we as the Broadview Six – Kat, Brian, Andre, Joselyn, Cat, and me – stepped up to fight the Trump administration and win this case, not only for us, but for our immigrant communities, and protesters throughout the United States.

“Meanwhile, as we move forward, I am committed to continue organizing for equity and justice, leading and mobilizing Democrats in the 45th ward, fighting for human rights, as well as defending protest and the first amendment.

“I’d like to thank my amazing family – my wife Sarah, our children Patrick and Kathleen – for their love and support during a very difficult time in my life.

“I also want to thank my outstanding attorneys – Nancy DePodesta and Carly Chocron, as well as the legal team for my co-defendants.
“I’m also grateful for the tremendous community support I received – friends, neighbors, allies, supporters – the outpouring of encouragement and help has been incredible.”

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