Indictments and arrests against protesters have become part of Operation Midway Blitz. Whether the cases stick could depend on the legal definition of obstruction.
House candidate Kat Abughazaleh and five others were charged with felony offenses for their alleged involvement in a series of skirmishes with officers that later went viral on social media outside of the facility in Broadview, Illinois.
Abughazaleh, 26, posted a video on social media Wednesday responding to the indictment, in which she proclaimed her innocence.
"This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights," Abughazaleh said. "I'm not backing down, and we're going to win."
Abughazaleh is running for Congress for the Illinois 9th District to take Jan Schakowsky's seat.
The indictment alleges Abughazaleh conspired with others to impede a law enforcement officer from carrying out his duties on Sept. 26 by surrounding his vehicle and banging "aggressively" to prevent it from moving outside of the Broadview facility's staging area.
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The defendants "conspired with one another, and others, known and unknown, to prevent by force, intimidation, and threat, Agent A, a United States law enforcement officer, from discharging the duties of his office...and to injure his property so as to interrupt, hinder, and impede him in the discharge of his official duties," the indictment alleges.
Abughazaleh has posted multiple videos of her joining protests outside of the facility, including one on Sept. 19 that showed her being thrown to the ground by an ICE officer.
The videos have led to calls from right-wing activists such as Laura Loomer to have the DOJ arrest Abughazaleh and others who joined in the protests.
The court set initial appearance and arraignment is set for Nov 5.
UIC School of Law Prof. Steven Schwinn says physically interfering with a federal agent doing his job is the clearest definition of obstruction or impediment. The Trump administration has used both terms to arrest people protesting ICE enforcement
"It's going to depend on a lot of factors and circumstances that are difficult to tell or discern from a short video snippet," Schwinn said.
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"We have seen how they try to intimidate people that are alerting the community by saying that they're obstructing, by saying that they're impeding," Little Village Community Council President Baltazar Enriquez said.
Enriquez has witnessed in his community federal agents claiming obstruction against protesters with less than physical interference, which Schwinn says can be interpreted as legal.
"A person can interfere with a federal officer doing their job through things like even intimidation or some kind of other interference that is short of actual physical involvement," Schwinn said.
But, in his legal opinion, Schwinn says the Trump administration has stretched the limits of what obstruction means when they have prosecuted protesters.
"If the Department of Justice seeks to lodge a charge, they very well may do it, but then it's a different question entirely, whether that'll survive the legal system," Schwinn said.
Schwinn says charges likely won't survive, if it is proved federal agents were acting unlawfully while doing their jobs.
In the meantime, Enriquez is not taking any chances. He advises his volunteers who look out for ICE to no longer follow the agents in caravans, stay six feet away and don't engage.
"So we're telling them not to get in any conversation with them," Enriquez said. "Just blow the whistle. Back off. Do not get near them."
Enriquez says by abiding by those rules, none of his volunteers have been arrested. He is convinced federal agents are is trying to provoke protesters to react in a violent way as a reason to send the National Guard.
Cook County Board candidate Catherine "Cat" Sharp is also among the defendants who had federal charges brought against them on Wednesday.
"The charges brought against Ms. Sharp are ludicrous," attorney Molly Armour, who is representing Sharp, said in a statement. "We are confident that a jury of Ms. Sharp's peers will see them for exactly what they are: an effort by the Trump administration to frighten people out of participating in protest and exercising their First Amendment rights."
"As long as ICE is terrorizing members of our community and disregarding due process, I believe we must continue to speak out," Sharp said in a statement. "I'm proud of my work organizing in our neighborhoods to keep our immigrant neighbors safe from harm."
Cook County Democratic Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle issued the following statement Wednesday evening:
"In a dangerous escalation of the Trump Administration's campaign to intimidate, six individuals, including Cook County Democratic candidates, officials, and a Democratic Committeeperson, have been federally indicted for exercising their First Amendment rights.
"They are not the first to be targeted. Since the launch of Operation Midway Blitz, our communities have been terrorized, and those who have stood up have been physically assaulted or criminalized simply for speaking out.
"What we are witnessing is a coordinated attack on blue cities and states; a deliberate campaign to instill fear and silence dissent. These indictments are part of a broader effort to scare people away from participating in protest and exercising their constitutional rights.
"Now, more than ever, it is critical that we stand up and speak out.
"We are a party that reflects and represents the full diversity of Cook County. That diversity makes us strong, and we will not back down as Donald Trump threatens our neighbors, our human rights, and the democratic values we all share."
ABC News contributed to this report.