Worcester, Massachusetts, City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj has been charged with assault and battery on a police officer following her interference with an ICE operation last month.
In a statement responding to the charges, Haxhiaj said, “Our community continues to be shocked and devastated by the events on Eureka Street as our country staggers from political upheaval. It is frustrating to now be targeted by this criminal prosecution as well. I am a mother, an immigrant and elected leader who attempted, along with other Worcester residents, to protect a traumatized young person, two mothers and an infant. I did the humane thing to do in this situation, nothing more, nothing less.”
She described her “life’s calling” as helping others. “I am a former refugee who fled and escaped violence. I, like too many others in our city, have previously lived through the nightly terror of whisper campaigns, street round-ups and disappeared neighbors, which I experienced when I lived in both Albania and Greece,” she wrote. “It is frightening that the same type of conduct is now a reality in this country.”
“Protecting the most vulnerable should not lead to being targeted and vilified,” Haxhiaj declared. “And working to improve policing in our city by calling for oversight and accountability should not provoke political grandstanding and attacks. I look forward to responding to these charges in court.”
According to a statement of facts from Worcester Police Lt. John Bossolt and reported by the Telegram & Gazette, Haxhiaj pushed a police officer in the chest and pulled their arm as they were making an arrest.
