The Department of Justice has indicted Kat Abughazaleh, a Democratic congressional candidate in Illinois, for allegedly blocking vehicles during protests last month outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. Five other individuals were also charged with the same offense.

Abughazaleh, who is running for Illinois’ 9th congressional district, stated, “This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights. I’m not backing down, and we’re going to win.” Others facing similar charges include Catherine Sharp, a Cook County Board candidate, and Michael Rabbitt, a 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson, along with Andre Martin, Brian Straw and Joselyn Walsh.

The indictment alleges the six individuals surrounded a government vehicle near the Broadview facility on Sept. 26, aiming to “hinder and impede” a federal agent from performing their duties. It claims they “banged aggressively” on the vehicle’s windows, crowded around it, pushed against it, and scratched its surface. The document also states they etched the word “PIG” on the vehicle and damaged its side mirror and rear windshield wiper.

The agent involved was forced to drive at an extremely slow speed to avoid injuring those blocking the path, according to the indictment. Abughazaleh is accused of bracing her body against the vehicle to prevent it from moving. She previously described the protests as a response to what she called systemic issues, stating, “ICE has hit, dragged, thrown, shot with pepper balls, and tear gassed hundreds of protesters… simply because we had the gall to say that masked men coming into our communities, abducting our neighbors, and terrorizing us cannot be our new normal.”

Arraignments for the defendants have not yet been scheduled. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge April Perry.