A federal judge has taken the highly unusual step to order prosecutors and their supervisors into court Thursday to explain redactions made to portions of grand jury transcripts in the “Broadview Six” case against Operation Midway Blitz protesters.
U.S. District Judge April Perry’s order, which was posted to the public docket in the case Wednesday afternoon, called for any prosecutor “who participated in the decision to redact portions of the grand jury transcripts, whether on the trial team or at the supervisory level” to appear before her at 11 a.m. Thursday.
It was unclear who will be forced to appear in court, but Perry’s inclusion of “supervisors” in her order could include high-level people in the office. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros did not respond to requests for comment.
The proceedings will be conducted under seal “due to the anticipated discussion of grand jury materials and in an effort to avoid tainting the jury venire” in the upcoming criminal trial, which is slated to begin with jury selection Tuesday, according to Perry’s order.
The move comes two days after Perry agreed to review unredacted portions of the grand jury transcripts that led to the original felony conspiracy indictment in the case.
Originally, the defense had asked the judge to look at only portions of the transcripts that showed how the grand jury was instructed on the law. After those versions were filed under seal, Perry later ordered prosecutors to bring the full, unredacted transcripts to her chambers at the next hearing.
On the morning of that hearing, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan announced his office was dismissing the original felony conspiracy charge and proceeding on misdemeanors, rendering the grand jury transcripts “moot.”
Perry agreed. But defense attorney Christopher Parente, who represents Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw, continued to suggest the U.S. attorney’s office dismissed the indictment because of some error before the grand jury that they were now trying to avoid disclosing.
After Parente again raised the issue at a pretrial hearing on Monday, Perry agreed to take a look at the transcripts to “see if there is anything suspicious” about the 30 or so lines that had been redacted, though she guessed at the time that most of the redactions had to do with “IT issues.” Given the judge’s order Wednesday, that clearly was not the case.
Hogan, meanwhile, told the judge his team had offered to hand over the unredacted transcripts “weeks ago,” although that was hotly disputed by attorneys for the defense.
The “Broadview Six” case has been beset by controversy from the moment the indictment was brought in October as the defense has alleged the case was brought amid pressure from the administration of President Donald Trump and was nothing more than an attempt to silence protesters of the president’s draconian immigration policies.
The back-and-forth escalated last month when Parente raised the possibility that the U.S. attorney’s office had misinstructed the grand jury on the law or had “improper or prejudicial” interactions with the panel, then dismissed the conspiracy count to avoid having to turn over unredacted transcripts of the proceedings.
In response, prosecutors blasted Parente for “histrionically” speculating about perceived misconduct in what was the normal practice in Chicago’s federal court. “There was nothing remotely unusual, let alone nefarious, about that state of affairs,” prosecutors said.
Charged in the case are Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, a former Democratic congressional candidate; Andre Martin, who was Abughazaleh’s campaign manager; 45th Ward Democratic Committeeman Michael Rabbitt; and Straw.
Earlier this year, Perry granted a request from the U.S. attorney’s office to dismiss charges against Catherine Sharp, a onetime candidate for the Cook County Board, and Joselyn Walsh, a part-time garden store worker and singer.
Prosecutors alleged the defendants were part of a group that surrounded an ICE vehicle outside the Broadview facility during a Sept. 26 protest and “banged aggressively” on the vehicle’s side and back windows, hood and doors before they “crowded together in the front and side of the Government Vehicle and pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement.”
They further alleged that the protesters scratched the vehicle’s body, broke a side mirror and a rear windshield wiper and etched the word “PIG” into the paint — though no one listed in the indictment is accused of specifically causing that damage.
The remaining misdemeanor counts of impeding a federal officer are each punishable by up to one year behind bars.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
