A federal court has dismissed criminal charges against Chicago-area activists who protested Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, finding that prosecutors engaged in gross misconduct during the case.
The Department of Justice moved to drop the charges after a judge determined that the government’s own attorneys had behaved improperly in pursuing the anti-ICE demonstrators. Defense lawyers had argued that evidence handling and procedural violations tainted the prosecution from the outset.
The dismissed cases involved activists who participated in demonstrations opposing federal immigration enforcement near Chicago. The ruling adds to a series of legal setbacks for prosecutors pursuing charges linked to immigration protests in 2025 and 2026.
A Cook County judge had previously thrown out related charges on similar grounds. Civil rights groups welcomed the dismissal but said broader reforms to protest policing and federal charging practices remain necessary.
Prosecutorial misconduct findings can bar the government from retrying defendants under double jeopardy and speedy trial doctrines in some circumstances. The Chicago dismissals occurred as Congress debated ICE funding and as detainees at California facilities launched hunger strikes over conditions.
The activists’ attorneys said discovery violations and selective prosecution undermined the government’s theory of unlawful obstruction, requesting sanctions against individual prosecutors pending bar association review.
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Sources:
https://dailycuratednews.substack.com/p/news-headlines-may-22-2026