Federal Prosecutors Drop Broadview Six Conspiracy Charges After Protesters Surround ICE Agent’s Car

Federal prosecutors dropped the remaining felony conspiracy charges against the “Broadview Six” anti-ICE protesters on Thursday, after the six protesters surrounded an ICE agent’s car in the Chicago suburb of Broadview in September in an attempt to slow it down.

“Senate goes on break amid GOP plan to curtail Trump 'anti-weaponization' and ballroom funding Democrats are powerless to block it from passing if Republicans stick together”

ABC News

U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros dropped the charges with prejudice in front of U.S. District Judge April Perry, meaning the case cannot be refiled in the future, and Boutros called the protesters’ actions “unacceptable in a civilized society.”

ABC News

Perry told Boutros, “You are significantly undercutting your mea culpa here by standing behind the charges and continuing to vilify these particular defendants,” as the judge reacted to the prosecution’s stance.

The New Republic also described how the government first dropped charges against Catherine Sharp and Joselyn Walsh, then threw out conspiracy charges against Brian Straw, Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin, and former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh while trying to convict them of one misdemeanor count each for impeding a federal agent.

The case was tied to ICE activity under the Trump administration and to deportation efforts including Operation Midway Blitz, which began in September 2025 and resulted in protests, arrests, and the fatal shooting of one resident, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez.

In Washington, Senate Republicans punted votes on a GOP package to fund ICE and Border Patrol until June after objections to the Trump administration’s “anti-weaponization” fund, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying, “Well, that’s a big issue.”

NBC News reported that the Justice Department has said it plans to make $1.776 billion in taxpayer money available for the fund, and that the only method of passing it through Congress would be to add it to the immigration “reconciliation” package that can pass with only Republican votes.

CBS News

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with senators and released a one-page fact sheet, and NBC News quoted the fact sheet saying, “There is no partisan restriction: Democrats can submit claims, too,” according to DOJ.

ABC News described how Republicans were retreating after meeting with Blanche to address concerns about the fund, and it quoted Republican Sen. Susan Collins saying, “no,” Blanche did not change his mind about the weaponization fund.

ABC News also quoted Republican Sen. John Hoeven saying the “consensus building process” on the matter is “going to require more work,” as the Senate headed for its Memorial Day recess.

The dispute over the “anti-weaponization” fund has triggered immediate scrutiny over legality, enforcement, and implementation, with CBS News reporting that the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion fund to provide payouts was met with questions about whether it is legal and how it would work.

“As Donald Trump plotted his return to the White House in late 2023, a group of campaign advisers began working on a plan to compensate political allies they believed were unfairly targeted by the federal government, two people familiar with the deliberations told CNN”

CNN

CBS News said the fund was established as part of a settlement agreement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service, and it described the program as aiming to “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”

The Hill reported that Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said, “We’re going to try to kill it,” and it described the fund as part of an negotiated settlement in which Trump agreed to voluntarily dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit over leaked tax returns in exchange for its creation.

NBC News added that DOJ officials circulated a one-page fact sheet explaining where the money would come from, who would oversee disbursements, and who was eligible, and it said the fact sheet stated the president, his sons, and the Trump Organization would receive an apology but no monetary payment.

CBS News also quoted legal concerns from Paul Figley, a law professor at American University, warning that “No court is going to allow that,” in the context of standing to challenge how government dollars are spent.