Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw appeared in court again Thursday morning for a hearing in his federal conspiracy case tied to a confrontation with federal law enforcement at a protest outside the Broadview ICE detention facility.
Straw is one of several progressive political figures facing felony charges for conspiracy to impede the work of a federal law enforcement officer and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers, according to U.S. Northern District of Illinois court documents. During the brief hearing before Judge April Perry, attorneys for the defendants said that they’re prepared to motion for the charges to be dismissed on both first amendment and selective prosecution grounds as the prosecution outlined a timeline for providing case materials to the defense as part discovery.
Straw’s co-defendants in the case are 9th District U.S. Congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, Cook County board candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp, 45th ward Democratic committeeman Michael Rabbit and two other protestors named Joselyn Walsh and Andre Martin. The indictment alleged that Straw and his co-defendants were among a crowd of protestors who blocked, pushed against and banged on a vehicle being driven by a federal officer into ICE’s Broadview detention facility the morning of Sept. 26.
Federal prosecutor Sheri Mecklenburg said the government will provide another set of discovery materials to the defense after the first week of January. Perry set the next hearing in the case for Jan. 28.
Those discovery materials will likely include “White House communications,” Mecklenburg said. A trial date for the case could be set after the state provides that round of discovery.
Straw’s attorney Christopher Parente asked the prosecution to keep the case moving, considering his client’s schedule and responsibilities as an Oak Park trustee.
“We’re a little concerned about the delay,” Parente said. “The government decided when to charge this case.”
