The latest viral skirmish between law enforcement and left-wing agitators unfolded Friday in Broadview, Illinois, where an anti-ICE protest turned into a national talking point after Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was filmed being shoved aside by federal agents.
Abughazaleh, a former reporter turned activist, uploaded the footage herself, claiming it showed ICE violating her “First Amendment rights.” In the video, she can be seen standing directly in front of a government vehicle, apparently blocking it from moving. Federal officials, masked and armed, attempt to clear her and other protesters out of the way. When Abughazaleh resists, an agent pushes her aside, and she collapses onto the pavement.
🚨 LMFAO! A federal agent brought a resisting left-wing agitator TO THE GROUND outside ICE near Chicago.
I could watch this all day. They’re done playing games!pic.twitter.com/mYgMvgZ1im
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 19, 2025
From another angle, she’s shown springing back up and charging at the agents, only to be pushed back again. Surrounding protesters jeered the agents, shouted obscenities, and accused ICE of violence.
Abughazaleh immediately turned the incident into campaign fodder, writing on X: “What ICE just did to me was a violent abuse of power — and it’s still nothing compared to what they’re doing to immigrant communities.” Later, in remarks to local media, she accused ICE of treating the protest like a “war zone,” claiming officers nearly ran someone over and deployed pepper balls and tear gas.
🚨 BREAKING: ICE and federal agents just UNLEASHED on left-wing agitators and ARRESTED at least one who tried to form a blockade at an immigration facility near Chicago. They deployed tear gas and sting balls.
ICE is DONE playing games. pic.twitter.com/rio8rprKRw
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 19, 2025
Homeland Security officials flatly rejected her narrative. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that Abughazaleh was deliberately seeking attention for her campaign: “This fame-hungry, cable TV candidate is so desperate for her 15 minutes of fame that she will go so far as to put our law enforcement at risk and obstruct justice.”
ICE itself was just as blunt. A spokesperson dismissed her behavior as “a selfish publicity stunt” that endangered officers, facility employees, and detainees alike.
More from Broadview, Illinois ICE facility (which HuffPo reports Homeland Security now wants to evacuate and relocate operations):
As two armed, masked border agents get into an unmarked vehicle, they are ridiculed by protesters: “CobGobbler! CobGobbler!”
“What’s your name?… pic.twitter.com/kNmw1H6esy
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) September 21, 2025
Conservatives online were equally unforgiving. Commentator Greg Price wrote that it was Abughazaleh’s own actions that got her “tossed to the ground,” pointing out that “impeding a federal ICE operation is a crime.” Others, like Paul Szypula, urged authorities to prosecute her to the fullest extent of the law: “Make a legal example out of this maniac.”
Meanwhile, local outlet ABC 7 confirmed that three protesters were arrested during Friday’s clash, and reported that ICE officers deployed riot control smoke to clear blockades. The protests came in response to the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” a major enforcement effort targeting illegal immigrant crime in the Chicago area. Activists have vowed to continue demonstrating weekly.
🚨 BREAKING: Federal agents are now ARRESTING “protestors” who are blocking ICE vehicles in Chicago
They’re about to learn the federal government won’t cut them loose like the Chicago government would 🤣
Enjoy your stay in jail, idiots! pic.twitter.com/eScun2d8bB
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 20, 2025
Abughazaleh, however, is facing a different battle. Instead of showcasing strength, the video showed her blocking a law enforcement vehicle and ending up on the pavement — before trying to spin the confrontation into a campaign narrative.
Just now: Woman protesting outside Broadview ICE facility is shot repeatedly with sting balls, thrown to the ground, and ultimately maced point blank in the face as she attempts to block ICE agents from leaving the facility in a vehicle. pic.twitter.com/pOHagtAPw9
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) September 19, 2025
ICE’s parting shot summed it up: “Once an activist, always an activist.”
