Kat Abughazaleh on the Right to Protest

Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was charged earlier this week with federal conspiracy charges for protesting outside of Broadview ICE Processing Center last month Related Trump DOJ Charges House Candidate Kat Abughazaleh With Conspiracy for Protesting ICE Along with five others Abughazaleh was indicted on felony charges for assaulting and conspiring to injure law enforcement officers The -page indictment alleges the protesters banged aggressively on a federal agent s car and pushed against the bicycle to hinder and impede its movement They also allegedly scratched the word pig onto the truck Abughazaleh a candidate in the Democratic primary for Illinois s th Congressional District spoke to The Intercept Briefing just days after the charges were unsealed This scenario against me this indictment is a clear attack on free speech freedom of association the right to protest she says This indictment is so breathtaking in just how obviously it is trying to criminalize the right to protest And it s ludicrous to me that any elected official that s sworn to protect the Constitution wouldn t look at it and think where the hell are we right now At an earlier protest at the same facility the former journalist was filmed being slammed to the ground by ICE agents That video went viral sparking outrage and she s urging other elected officers to fight back I feel like we as citizens are recounted to do so much and then our leaders aren t matching that Part of it is they re scared This is a scary time And there are threats from the administration but also supporters We ve had a rise in political violence Abughazaleh challenges And this sounds callous but you requested hundreds of thousands of people to vote for you You solicited to represent them This is a job You need to do your job even if you re scared because that s what people deserve from their leaders The protesters are set to appear in court for their arraignment on November If convicted they could face up to six years in prison Listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you listen Transcript Jessica Washington Welcome to The Intercept Briefing I m Jessica Washington On Wednesday the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Illinois congressional candidate and activist Kat Abughazaleh with federal conspiracy charges along with five other demonstrators for protesting outside of Broadview ICE Processing Center She now faces up to six years in prison if convicted Abughazaleh and her supporters have denounced the indictment as political prosecution and an attempt to silence protesters First Amendment rights in the wake of an unprecedented assault on civil liberties in Chicago and nationwide But critics accuse her of playing into Trump s narrative of lawlessness in majority Democratic cities Related Feds Say Kat Abughazaleh Impeded ICE Agents That Would Put Her on the Right Side of History At a time when voters are clamoring for elected functionaries to stand up to Donald Trump and his growing authoritarianism Abughazeleh has set herself apart from other Democrats for her willingness to take to the streets and put her body and future on the line Joining me now to discuss what s happening in Chicago and her vision for leadership is Kat Abughazeleh Kat welcome to the show Kat Abughazaleh Thank you so much for having me JW On Wednesday the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment which charges you and five other protesters with federal conspiracy for protesting outside of the Broadview Ice Processing Center While I know you can t share specific details of the alleged episode what can you share KA I can share the reason we were protesting I can share ICE s reaction to that on the ground The reason we were protesting in the first place was because of the conditions in the Broadview Processing Center and ICE s terror campaign in Chicago Months ago we heard about people being held for days or weeks in a facility you re only supposed to spend a max of hours in without beds without hot meals without access to hygienic facilities and now it s gotten worse We have heard about people being carried out in stretchers going into cardiac arrest being denied water At other facilities people miscarrying Of people being given fake translators so they ll sign their own deportation notices This is not OK These are crimes against humanity and it demands to stop And ICE s reaction has been to brutalize protesters to terrorize Chicago What are they willing to do behind boarded-up windows What I stress to people especially when they see videos of myself or people around me being tear-gassed or hit or thrown or dragged by ICE is what we are going through on camera that s what they re willing to do in front of others What are they willing to do behind boarded-up windows JW Over the last limited months you ve been noticeably involved in protests more than we typically see from people running for community office What do you think opponents of Trump should be doing specifically elected leaders KA They need to be out here They need to be standing with their constituents The thing about fascism is it doesn t come for the the bulk powerful political figures the elected functionaries first It comes for men who are deported to a concentration camp in another country without due process And the longer this fascist slide goes the harder it is to resist Related Trump Is Prosecuting a Congressional Democrat for Doing Her Job The Media s Response No Big Deal That s why we have needed and we still need our leaders to be physically standing up for the people they represent whether that is coming back week after week to inspect ICE facilities whether that is doing patrols in your neighborhood or standing between agents and your constituents You need to be out there It is not enough to just say things You have to veritably act on what you say as well JW You ve just mentioned a number of civil liberties violations but one you ve also touched on before is freedom of speech Do you believe that freedom of speech is under attack and what does that mean to you KA Absolutely This development against me this indictment is a clear attack on free speech freedom of association the right to protest Free speech to me is about the ruling body specifically I ve been covering the right for a long time and there s often this idea that like people can t get mad at you for what you say and that s free speech And that s not the incident Freedom of speech is knowing you can criticize the establishment without the ruling body punishing you for criticizing it for protesting You know that you have the right to speak out You know that there is something more than just this administration that we have these inherent rights Freedom of speech is knowing you can criticize the regime without the establishment punishing you for criticizing it Free speech is the foundation of this country It s number one on the Bill of Rights This indictment is so breathtaking in just how obviously it is trying to criminalize the right to protest And it s ludicrous to me that any elected official that s sworn to protect the Constitution wouldn t look at it and think Where the hell are we right now JW Do you think that your indictment was supposed to send a message to the other people who are protesting in the streets in Chicago and LA and other parts of the country KA Absolutely This is supposed to scare people into silence but this is literally I think the plan B ICE has been terrorizing Chicago for months and I think the Trump administration thought it would make people scared that people would give up that they would just stand back And instead Chicago has met it with consistent defiance We wear whistles and do patrols through our neighborhoods We stand up for each other We have school watches We know our rights That s one of the reasons Tom Homan doesn t like this city And so they went Wow The physical terror campaign didn t work Let s throw the federal legal system at someone and see if that will scare people into silence And it won t for me I hope it won t for anyone else We know our rights That s one of the reasons Tom Homan doesn t like this city JW I want to take a few of what you ve been doing on the streets in Chicago and put that into the context of what you want to do in Congress How does what you re trying to accomplish at these protests reflect in the policies that you want to implement in Congress KA One of the tenets not just of my campaign but of who I am as a person is words aren t enough You need to match them with actions That s why my campaign uses its information to not just reach voters but materially improve their lives I want to live in a country where everyone can afford housing groceries and fitness care with money left over to save and spend Our office doubles as a mutual aid hub We have backpack drives food drives we had a coat drive for the winter And we re still every day trying to improve the area even before Ballot Day And I think it s also representative of the world I want to see the policies I want to push And I think that s part of the reason people have felt so disillusioned with politics is they don t believe anyone in office Because there s this idea of like I m so helpless right now but if you elect me I can change things in November I don t think we have to do that I don t think we have to wait I want to live in a country where everyone can afford housing groceries and wellness care with money left over to save and spend As far as immigration we need an easier immigration process We need people we need Dreamers to have a clear pathway to citizenship We need to ensure that ICE is abolished Any agency that can turn into what this is should not exist anymore and we also need to make sure that these agents are held accountable We can t just pretend this was a bad dream We need trials And it s been unbelievable the entire time I have been protesting at the Broadview facility I ve seen two badges of ICE agents or DHS I don t even know what agency they belong to because it didn t say But specifically when it comes to what we re seeing on the ground abolishing ICE limiting CBP s jurisdiction and holding these people accountable JW You ve pointed out the kind of inaction of other politicians Obviously a large number of people are fed up with the Democratic Party for what they believe to be inaction And I guess my question is how do you see yourself within the broader context of the Democratic Party KA I see myself as I m just trying to do what I can to make things better I ve never been someone to sit on the sidelines or mince words and so I m willing to criticize what got us here and part of that is huge missteps by Democratic leadership But I also am running as a Democrat because this is the party of the New Deal and the Civil Rights Act I m trying to show and not tell what I think politics should be I think we can be better I think that we can be a true opposition to Trump and not just represent the status quo but something that helps us all What I m trying to do with my campaign because I have a large platform that I built myself with my reporting but it s still a privilege to start a campaign with I m trying to show and not tell what I think politics should be And that s honest communication that s transparency that s having fun that s helping people on the ground with the materials that you have and that s boldly going forward and not being worried about if who you are at your core is going to hurt you on Electoral process Day Because if it is that s democracy and you shouldn t be elected Break JW Why do you think more Democrats aren t taking direct action What do you think is holding people back from doing the things that you re doing KA I think it s kind of threefold with an extra like little reason zero Reason zero is if you re in D C a lot that takes a lot of time and you can t inevitably be in the neighborhood you live back home patrolling streets And I think that is a fair excuse for that But I think there s a lot more that all of us could be doing But particularly our leaders I feel like we as citizens are described to do so much and then our leaders aren t matching that Part of it is they re scared This is a scary time And there are threats from the administration but also supporters We ve had a rise in political violence And this sounds callous but you petitioned hundreds of thousands of people to vote for you You appealed to represent them This is a job You need to do your job even if you re scared because that s what people deserve from their leaders It s not anymore and this isn t the Republican Party you grew up with I think another reason is underestimating the moment we re in operating as if we are still in It s not anymore and this isn t the Republican Party you grew up with This is life or death and it s not just life or death just in Trump and ICE and all of these things that the administration s actively pushing It s also about weather change It s also about the dissolution of our rights It s also about women bleeding out in hospitals as they ve been for two years now because they can t get the health care they need if they live in a red state So I think that s the second reason And third it s hard It s hard and it s rude And if you ve been in politics especially if you ve been in politics for a long time now you want to break the mold a little bit But latest the mold all the way means being rude means going out of your comfort zone and not promptly complying in advance with everything this administration says because that s the president I think it s just hard for people who have been in politics for a long time to do And there s still these ideas of decorum but I m sorry when you re rappelling into residential buildings from Black Hawk helicopters I don t give a fuck about decorum That requirements to stop JW Yeah you ve touched on the fear and I want to pinpoint what you mean by that because I think it s captivating and people don t necessarily know Is the fear a fear of being harmed or do you think the fear is more political KA Yes I think both of those are true There s inevitably the fear of not being reelected which is why a lot of politicians spend so much time raising money instead of doing their jobs And there s this idea that we need to appeal to the center Guess what The center also does not like ICE terrorizing entire cities And I ll say this I don t think that we are looking at the proper center here The center should be everyone can afford what they need and have equal rights The center is not well like ICE can do a little bit of scary stuff They can do specific raids but maybe not all of them Maybe the apartment building was a bit much No that s not We need to abolish ICE So there s the fear of not being reelected but there s also the very real fear of personal safety I joke that covering the right for years is like the best training you can have for running for Congress I joke that covering the right for years is like the best training you can have for running for Congress because I have built like a thick skin I m very used to death threats I m very used to even worse threats But a lot of our leaders aren t and so they re seeing a rise in political violence I m sure their email inboxes are a mess their notifications are a mess and they re scared of that I don t mean to downplay it that very real threat to their residents safety to their personal safety and even their family s safety Once again you required people to vote for you This is a job and it s a hard job and if you are not prepared to do it even if it means being brave and being brave is not being unafraid it s doing something despite being afraid someone else requirements to take that job JW Can you just talk to me a little bit about the political violence that you re potentially worried about facing What has that been like for you to experience political violence at the hands of law enforcement KA I ve been very used to death threats rape threats very descriptive angry messages in my inbox in my notifications for years But the thing about the right is a lot of these people are cowards A lot of them don t act on it It s to scare you And so it s gotten to the point where I kind of laugh it off and I forget about the physical consequences if those things do happen And in the last two months I ve been hit thrown hit with a baton tear-gassed shot with pepper balls to the point of bruising groped It s weird It s so out of place It feels like a different life and then going and like to go get lunch afterwards I know this sounds very disjointed but it s kind of hard to explain especially because the difference of excessive force we ve seen at protests in the past to what ICE is doing to protesters it s so much scarier like it s hard to articulate I have played tug of war with a man s body to keep him from being abducted into the facility a protester just not doing anything The difference of excessive force we ve seen at protests in the past to what ICE is doing to protesters it s so much scarier like it s hard to articulate I have seen these men in full military gear that are just trying to find any excuse to brutalize people And there s no accountability Like when you see excessive force of protests you know that there s usually at least a semblance of a system to find that person to bring them home Like hopefully you ll get accountability maybe you won t But with ICE it s like they can just do whatever they want and you don t know who they are And so that s been really really scary Read our complete coverage Chilling Dissent JW You ve spent years examining and critiquing right-wing media and messaging How has that affected how you engage in protests and also the messaging that you engage in KA It makes me aware of how our leaders should be responding to the right and that s not by compromising that s not by folding It s by embracing and certainly believing in something Like we have Republicans that contact us and are like Hey I don t know if I agree with everything you say but I think you genuinely believe it Related The Struggle for the Future of the New York Democratic Party And even after the video of me being thrown to the ground by ICE we ve had Republicans in the district also be like I don t know how I feel about ICE because they re actively being terrorized as well it doesn t just affect Democrats But I do think like I love the fact that you stood up for something and that s really what it comes down to Our system is built to try to make us feel like it s me against you and it s really us against a scarce very powerful very wealthy individuals and we don t deserve to have secret police busting into our homes When I am protesting I would be there no matter what I was doing whether I m running for office whether I was still a journalist whether I was a bartender at this point as I was years ago God I feel so old I m But I just really think that you have to certainly believe in something If you believe in something strong enough you d be able to stand up for it JW What do you believe that your constituents want from a representative I love asking people what do you care about KA Oh I know what they want What I have heard time and time again is they want a fighter They want someone that s willing to fight for them and listen And that s what I m willing to do And this is something we see nationwide I love asking people what do you care about Because I used to get really even before running for office I m nosy and like hearing this from people And I used to get a lot of really varied responses And now it s just everything Everyone says I care about everything and I m scared of everything and I want to fight back against everything They feel like a lot of our leaders less so in Illinois but just nationwide especially in D C where everyone s actions affect all of us it doesn t just affect your state they feel like people aren t fighting back in such a Democratic district They feel like the Democratic Party isn t putting up any bit of a fight JW Do you plan on continuing to protest and continuing to use your voice KA Absolutely A year and two days ago I was being deposed by Elon Musk for working at Media Matters Three days ago I was indicted by the federal establishment And in both of those I just keep thinking like if this is supposed to be an intimidation tactic you really picked the wrong girl I m going to keep speaking out I m going to stand up for immigrants for all of our rights and I hope everyone will do the same If this is supposed to be an intimidation tactic you really picked the wrong girl JW Well we re going to leave it there but thank you for joining me on the Intercept Briefing KA Thank you so much JW Thank you for listening We want to hear from you What do you want to see more coverage of Are you taking political action Are there organizing efforts in your region you want to shout out Shoot us an email at podcasts theintercept com Or leave us a voice mail at -POD-CAST That s - - This episode was produced by Laura Flynn Sumi Aggarwal is our executive producer Ben Muessig is our editor-in-chief Chelsey B Coombs is our social and video producer Fei Liu is our product and design manager Nara Shin is our copy editor Will Stanton mixed our show Legal review by David Bralow Slip Stream provided our theme music If you want to backing our work you can go to theintercept com join Your donation no matter the amount makes a real difference If you haven t already please subscribe to The Intercept Briefing wherever you listen to podcasts And leave us a rating or a review it helps other listeners to find us Until next time I m Jessica Washington The post Kat Abughazaleh on the Right to Protest appeared first on The Intercept