Grand Jury Misconduct Forces Dismissal of Broadview Protester Charges

Federal prosecutors dropped all charges against four Broadview protesters after a judge found misconduct during the grand jury proceedings in the Operation Midway Blitz case, including alleged vouching by an attorney. The charges had stemmed from a September protest near the Broadview ICE facility, and the four defendants—Kat Abughazaleh, Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin, and Brian Straw—had faced misdemeanor counts after the earlier felony conspiracy charge was dropped; two others (Cat Sharp and Jocelyn Walsh) had charges dropped in March. The trial was paused to address the misconduct, and while prosecutors said the errors were not intentional, defense attorneys called the behavior gross misconduct.