Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, a Democrat and former Media Matters for America staffer, openly joined demonstrators at an anti-ICE rally where protesters shouted violent slogans, including “shoot ICE” and “shoot the [Expletive].” Abughazaleh herself attempted to obstruct federal officers, proudly posting videos of her actions online.
“At the Broadview ICE facility, an ICE agent tried to run dozens of protesters over with an SUV as we walked on a public crosswalk,” she claimed in one post. Her video shows activists blocking an ICE vehicle before agents deployed pepper balls to disperse the mob.
Additional footage captured Abughazaleh seated with fellow demonstrators singing protest songs—but the rally’s darker tone soon emerged, as agitators escalated to calls for bloodshed against law enforcement. The chants came just days after a leftist gunman attacked an ICE facility, killing one federal employee, and only a short time after the political assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Abughazaleh, whose campaign platform includes recognizing a “Palestinian state” and promises of “no capitulation to fascists,” has embraced the far-left flank of her party. She has earned the endorsement of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and faces Evanston mayor Daniel Biss in the 2026 Democratic primary for Illinois’s Ninth District.
By aligning herself with radicals advocating violence, Abughazaleh highlights a disturbing trend within the Democratic Party: activists who glorify extremism while seeking public office. The presence of a congressional hopeful at a protest where crowds shouted “shoot ICE” raises grave questions about the left’s tolerance for political violence.
