Congressional candidate thrown to ground during protest outside ICE facility

Federal agents clashed with protesters and threw a congressional candidate to the ground Friday morning during a protest outside a Chicago-area Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

The chaotic scene unfolded in Broadview, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Democratic candidate running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District seat, was thrown to the ground by an armed and masked federal agent outside the ICE facility, according to video footage posted on her social media.

Abughazaleh said about 100 demonstrators were at the facility to protest what the Trump administration has labeled “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago, a drastic ramp-up of immigration operations and ICE raids that began in early September.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Abughazaleh described arriving to the protest around 4 a.m. as a van was entering or exiting the facility. During one clash, officers pushed protesters back and dragged one individual by the hood of his sweatshirt, she said, before she also was picked up and thrown to the ground.

A later incident, which Abughazaleh described as “more aggressive” and which was captured on video, occurred about 9 a.m., when an officer she described as an ICE agent pulled her away and threw her on the ground again as another ICE vehicle was leaving the facility.

Video footage depicts what appears to be a mix of ICE agents and Customs and Border Protection officers on the scene.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and CPB, did not address specific questions about the physical clashes depicted in videos posted by Abughazaleh, including her being thrown to the ground.

“They had dragged a protester into the facilities. … They put this person in chains, in a van, and they had the van come out, and ICE tried to drive through us,” Abughazaleh told The Post. “My friend was on the hood of the car. They started shooting pepper balls at us. A man got shot in the face with one, a guy almost fell into the wheel of a car. Then they tear-gassed us, and the van drove away with the protester in there.”

“I know I’m going to wake up with a giant bruise that goes up pretty much my entire right side … the skin was taken off my thumb. We’re still coughing, and my nose feels like it’s on fire,” she added.

Several videos and images posted on X by local media outlets also depict officers deploying tear gas and removing protesters to clear a path for an ICE vehicle.

In a statement Friday, the Department of Homeland Security accused protesters at the Broadview facility of assaulting law enforcement, slashing car tires, throwing cans of tear gas, blocking the entrance to the building and trespassing on private property. At least three rioters were arrested by federal law enforcement Friday morning, according to DHS.

The statement went on to criticize several Democratic politicians by name – including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson – for having “villainized and demonized ICE law enforcement.”

“These desperate politicians want 15 minutes of fame, and they’re willing to do it off the backs of law enforcement,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said on Fox News just hours after the clash. “It’s pretty despicable, but we will continue do what we’re doing, whether it be in Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis or New York.”

Tensions in Chicago between residents and federal law enforcement authorities have been heightened for several months. In June, Democratic Reps. Danny K. Davis, Jesús “Chuy” García, Delia C. Ramirez and Jonathan L. Jackson attempted to conduct an oversight visit after reports that the processing center was being used as a detention center – and migrants were being denied beds, hygiene products, complete meals and access to legal representation – but were denied entry.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump openly mused about wanting to deploy the National Guard to Chicago next – even suggesting that his administration was soon going to “war” with the city – as part of efforts to crack down on crime and undocumented immigration. However, administration officials appeared to pull back on those plans last week after protests from state and local leaders, saying they were going to deploy the National Guard to Memphis next instead.

“They are a progressive city, and they don’t want the president’s help. That’s on them,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News last week. “Chicago should be begging Donald Trump for help to keep Chicago safe – yet they aren’t.”

Pritzker has accused Trump of having a “nefarious plan” to normalize the militarization of cities to his benefit. The governor and Chicago City Council members have said they would welcome support from federal agencies to track down drug traffickers and violent criminals – but not through a National Guard deployment.