Federal prosecutors in Chicago appeared Friday to be hiding the name of an attorney representing the United States government in the ongoing legal fight over the doomed "Broadview Six" case, in which a judge has now asked for additional evidence as she considers sanctions or a finding of criminal contempt against the feds.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros' office filed two partially redacted documents overnight, seeking U.S. District Judge April Perry's permission to disclose grand jury transcripts and exhibits in the case originally brought against six Operation Midway Blitz protesters. The documents cited the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requiring grand jury secrecy as one reason to hide portions of them from the public.
The documents were filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Walsh, the head of Boutros' civil division. But the feds made the unusual move of covering up what appeared to be the signature block of a second attorney representing the U.S. government.
Representatives of Boutros' office and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday morning. Grand jury transcripts in the case have already been made public, something Perry noted on the court docket after Boutros' request was apparently first made under seal this week.
It is highly unusual for the name of a government attorney to be redacted from such a document. Even in the Chicago prosecution of violent Sinaloa cartel figures, the names of Justice Department attorneys appear on the public record, along with their professional contact information.
It's particularly striking in the "Broadview Six" case, in which Boutros' office has already been accused of a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Perry on Friday asked prosecutors for evidence to help her make "findings of fact regarding potential sanctions or criminal contempt." Specifically, she asked for "all communications" between Boutros' office and "anyone outside" of it, other than local FBI investigators, "regarding any investigatory or charging decisions for this case."
The time frame she gave for her request begins Sept. 26, 2025, the day of the protest that led to the prosecution. It ends March 30, 2026, the day prosecutors denied such communications existed.
Perry also asked for the Oct. 14, 2025, email in which Boutros received a grand jury transcript that documented some of the apparent wrongdoing by his staff. The judge asked for all replies or forwards, all email chains it's included on, along with "all associated metadata." Boutros previously told the judge he'd learned of much of the misconduct in April.
Finally, the judge asked for details about any such communication that took place orally, rather than writing.
She gave the feds until Oct. 30 to produce the records for her review. And, she said, "testimony from witnesses may be requested at a later time."
Perry announced last week that further “under oath” fact-finding is necessary in the tainted case. In doing so, she left open the possibility of naming a special prosecutor to investigate Boutros and other Justice Department officials.
That means the threat of a criminal investigation continues to hang over what was once seen as a top-tier U.S. attorney’s office, where the mantra has long been “do the right thing.”
Perry announced her intention at the end of an hourlong hearing in which she asked an attorney for Boutros’ office whether any of the prosecutors who worked on the politically charged “Broadview Six” case would invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
He didn’t rule it out.
Perry told the lawyers, “My sole focus, at this point, is on lack of candor, concealment of material facts, or other misconduct that occurred before me.” The comment was likely designed to avoid separation-of-powers concerns from derailing her inquiry.
The “Broadview Six” case revolved around a protest outside an immigration holding facility in west suburban Broadview in September 2025. Prosecutors alleged that a crowd pushed and damaged a federal agent’s SUV.
But from that crowd, only six people were charged with a conspiracy to impede the agent. Most of them were involved in local Democratic politics.
Charged were then-congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw, then-Cook County Board candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp, 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, musician Joselyn Walsh and Abughazaleh campaign worker Andre Martin.
The case against them collapsed on May 21, after Perry alleged that Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg spoke to grand jurors outside the grand jury room and put her personal credibility on the line to support charges. The judge also indicated Mecklenburg had excused grand jurors who disagreed with the feds’ case, a claim Mecklenburg denies.
Mecklenburg recently retired from the Justice Department in order to defend herself, insisting that she followed the instructions of Boutros’ front office “at every turn.”
But Perry said she found “most problematic” the fact that the apparent misconduct was redacted out of transcripts initially given to her by Boutros’ office. The redactions were made after Mecklenburg withdrew from the case.
