Cleared "Broadview 6" protester calls prosecutors' grand jury actions "shocking and horrifying"

A month after being cleared of all charges, one of the "Broadview Six" protesters spoke about the toll the case took on him, and criticized what he called "shocking and horrifying" misconduct by federal prosecutors in the case.

Brian Straw, a father of two and an Oak Park village trustee, was one of six protesters indicted in October, accused of surrounding an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle outside the Broadview ICE facility in September, and impeding federal agents.

The hat Straw wore that day bears a simple message: "Do Good."

"That's what each of us was out there trying to do," Straw said.

In October, a grand jury indicted Straw and five others on two counts each: conspiracy to impede or injure a federal law enforcement officer; and forcibly impeding, intimidating, or interfering with a federal law enforcement officer while engaged in official duties.

"My lawyer in the first hearing described me as a boring suburban dad," Straw recalled, saying he didn't know his co-defendants until after they were indicted.

They were all out protesting federal immigration enforcement outside the ICE facility in Broadview in September. They were accused of blocking the path of an ICE agent's vehicle as he was reporting to work.

"I think a lot of us sort of reacted the same way you would if a car hit you in a crosswalk here downtown. You know, we turned and put our hands on the hood of the car," Straw said.

While the Broadview Six were not arrested on the day of the protest, they were indicted weeks later.

"I got a call from an FBI agent who told me that I had been indicted, and that I had to self-surrender," Straw said.

At the time, the Broadview Six had no idea about alleged misconduct by the federal prosecutors who secured the grand jury indictment against them, which would ultimately lead to the feds dropping all charges against them in late May.

Grand jury transcripts released just before trial revealed veteran Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg improperly "vouched" for the strength of the evidence against them, dismissed grand jurors who disagreed with prosecutors' allegations, and improperly contacted one grand juror outside of official proceedings.

After initially failing to secure an indictment against the Broadview Six in October, prosecutors tried again one week later, only to meet resistance from a grand juror who asked them if they could keep coming back to try again after the grand jury rejected charges.

"I heard this case, like, last week and I thought it was a crock of s*** then and I still think it is," that grand juror said.

Transcripts of grand jury proceedings showed prosecutors seeking the indictment dismissed grand jurors who expressed skepticism of the case they were seeking to make.

"It was shocking and horrifying, because if this kind of misconduct is happening in a high-profile case like this against defendants like us, I'm afraid of what might be happening in other cases," Straw said.

Before charges against them were dropped, the months of pre-trial motions in the case had an impact on more than just the six people who'd expected to defend themselves.

Straw said he and his co-defendants received threatening calls.

"My 11-year-old had dreams, had nightmares about whether our house would be shot up," he said.

Now cleared of all charges, Straw has his "Do Good" hat back from evidence.

"When I wore it to my 6-year-old daughter's T-ball game, and I started sweating, I wiped my forehead with my hands, and I don't know if you can see the discoloration on my hands, I have chemical burns," he said.

Leftover chemicals from the day of the protest in Broadview "thoroughly saturated" the hat, according to Straw.

He still wears it, burns be damned. 

"The message still stands that, you know, we have to spend our time and our effort doing good, and sometimes that comes with a cost," he said.

Lawyers for the Broadview Six have filed motions to uncover communication between the White House and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago about the decision to indict them. They're also asking for a special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal contempt charges against the federal prosecutors involved in their case.

Straw said the criminal case against him and his co-defendants might be over, but he said they have not achieved justice yet. They hope that move gets them one step closer.

After failing to secure an indictment from a grand jury in the "Broadview Six" case last October, federal prosecutors tried again a week later but ran into immediate pushback from some members of the panel, according to transcripts of the extraordinary proceedings made public Tuesday.

One grand juror pressed prosecutors on whether they could keep coming back for "unlimited tries" even when charges had been rejected, and asked if there was any new evidence that would be presented in the second session.

"Okay. I'm feeling the skepticism already," veteran Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg said, according to the transcript of the Oct. 16 proceedings. "Are you going to be able to listen with an open mind? Tell me the truth."

The grand juror said no — and then added something even more startling.

"I heard this case like last week and I thought it was a crock of (expletive) then and I still think it is," the grand juror said, according to the transcript.