An Illinois Democratic candidate for Congress, Kat Abughazaleh, recently shared a video on social media that seems to portray the events outlined in a federal indictment against her. The indictment accuses her of obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a protest.

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old who identifies as a “Gen Z influencer,” has dismissed the charges as a “political prosecution.” She argues that her actions were a demonstration of her First Amendment rights, not an infringement of the law.

In a statement on platform X, she asserted, “I have been charged in a federal indictment pursued by the Department of Justice. This political prosecution threatens all of our First Amendment rights. I’m standing firm, and we will prevail.”

During the protest on September 26 at the ICE Broadview Service Staging Area near Chicago, federal prosecutors claim that Abughazaleh became part of a group that surrounded a law enforcement vehicle, physically blocking its path. Allegedly, someone inscribed “PIG” on the vehicle while others damaged it by tearing off a mirror and a windshield wiper.

During a protest outside ICE’s Broadview Service Staging Area in suburban Chicago on Sept. 26, federal prosecutors allege that she joined a mob that swarmed a law enforcement vehicle, blocking it with their bodies before someone etched the word “PIG” into the vehicle and others ripped off a mirror and windshield wiper.

WATCH: Illinois Democrat posts video of ICE protest that led to her federal indictment

According to the indictment, Abughazaleh is accused of taking part in the blockade at around 7:45 a.m. that same 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.