Cook County prosecutors drop charges against protesters in scuffle at Broadview ICE facility

Cook County prosecutors this week dropped charges against nearly two dozen protesters who were at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, in November.

On Nov. 14, a crowd of people gathered in a designated protest area outside the Broadview processing center to sing songs and pray, demonstrating their opposition to the practice of detaining immigrants. 

At about 9:50 a.m., the leader of the demonstration announced that they wanted some clergy members to be allowed inside the facility to deliver communion. About 10 minutes later, some people pushed past the barricades around the designated protest area. Police pushed people back and some fell down.

There was another surge or two from the crowd before things calmed down.

A total of 21 people were arrested that day. Witnesses said about 15 of those detained were members of the clergy.

Charges were filed against the protesters who were arrested, but 19 of those cases have now been dismissed.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office said despite having sufficient evidence, they are "declining to proceed."