BROADVIEW, ILLINOIS — US Attorney Andrew Boutros dropped all charges in the Broadview Six case after a federal judge found prosecutorial misconduct and grand jury manipulation. The case was dismissed in May 2026.
In September 2025, 62-year-old Michael Rabbitt protested at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. The federal government charged Rabbitt and five others with felony conspiracy for allegedly blocking an ICE vehicle. These six defendants are referred to as the Broadview Six. In October 2025, Rabbitt received FBI messages in Portugal indicating he was under federal indictment, and the FBI ordered him to surrender by the day after receiving the notice.
Two defendants saw prosecutors dismiss their charges in March. In April, prosecutors dropped all felony charges against the remaining four defendants, leaving open only misdemeanor charges for trial. A federal trial for the defendants was scheduled for late May.
During a May 21 hearing, US District Judge April M Perry reviewed grand jury transcripts. Judge Perry stated prosecutors improperly attempted to influence grand jurors. She also found prosecutors communicated with grand jurors about substantive matters outside the grand jury room and removed jurors who disagreed with the government's case from deliberations.
The government initially provided the court with transcript copies containing redactions and missing pages. "All of this was redacted out of the versions of the transcripts that I got," Judge Perry said. According to court records, three grand juries reviewed the case. The first two grand juries returned a refusal to indict, while a third grand jury secured an indictment.
Boutros confirmed he spoke with the grand jurors who issued the indictment. Chris Parente, a defense attorney for Brian Straw and a former federal prosecutor, stated, "As the transcript demonstrates, US attorney Boutros asked these grand jurors, who previously refused to return an indictment, to 'raise their hand' if they had personal feelings on immigration cases, and informed them there would be a 'different procedure' for them." Boutros, who leads the US Department of Justice's Chicago office, issued a special report regarding the case and announced changes to his office's grand jury procedures.
Kat Abughazaleh, a former congressional candidate, stated the defendants collectively owe over $1 million in legal fees. "That's not a happy ending, it's just an ending. It's not justice, but it is a win," Abughazaleh said. The US government published a press release in October 2025 announcing the charges against the defendants, which it has not removed.