Broadview Six judge orders Chicago U.S. attorney to testify about failed prosecution

Featured image: The Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, photographed on November 22, 2013. Archival photo. Photo: Ken Lund, Dirksen United States Courthouse, Chicago Loop, Chicago, Illinois (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Chicago’s top federal prosecutor must answer questions under oath about the failed Broadview Six prosecution. U.S. District Judge April Perry’s November 2 order requires U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and three assistant prosecutors to testify November 16.

The charges grew out of a September 2025 protest outside the immigration detention facility in suburban Broadview during Operation Midway Blitz. Prosecutors initially accused six people of conspiring to obstruct a federal officer, bringing a felony case against demonstrators opposing the immigration crackdown.

As WBEZ reported when the remaining charges were dropped May 21, the defendants included former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, Oak Park trustee Brian Straw, 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt and campaign worker Andre Martin. Two other defendants’ charges had been dropped earlier.

The criminal case ended, but questions about the government’s conduct continued. Perry’s order seeks testimony about grand jury transcripts, their redactions and the accuracy of prosecutors’ statements about communications with officials outside the Chicago U.S. attorney’s office.

Perry questioned the government’s account of those communications and Boutros’ explanation of when he learned about improper conduct before the grand jury. She concluded there was sufficient basis to investigate whether statements to the court were knowingly false.

Perry set a November 5, 5 p.m. deadline for previously requested documents and a November 16, 9 a.m. hearing.

A separate lawsuit filed November 2 adds another account of the pressure surrounding the prosecution. Douglas DePodesta, who led the FBI’s Chicago field office, alleges Boutros blamed him for the case’s collapse to protect his own reputation.

DePodesta says FBI leaders forced him to resign in July after Boutros accused him of conspiring with his sister-in-law, defense attorney Nancy DePodesta, to undermine the case. She represented Rabbitt; Douglas DePodesta denies discussing the investigation with her or participating in the alleged misconduct.

The complaint also alleges that Boutros pressed for investigations of people opposing the Trump administration without an adequate factual basis. DePodesta says he pushed back by requesting evidence that would justify opening those investigations.

The Chicago Tribune report published by the Daily Herald describes another allegation: DePodesta says Boutros discussed the Broadview investigation with senior Washington officials at an October 7, 2025, meeting. That account bears directly on the dispute over outside involvement in the charging process.

The Associated Press reported November 2 that Boutros’ office declined to comment, while the FBI and Justice Department did not immediately respond to its requests. DePodesta’s claims remain allegations in a civil lawsuit.

Perry’s order requires evidence and sworn answers; it does not decide criminal liability. The November 16 hearing will examine the government’s account of a prosecution that has already ended.