CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s top federal prosecutor abandoned a closely watched case Thursday against four activists who protested outside a federal building during last year’s immigration crackdown in the city, after a judge scrutinized allegations of grand jury misconduct by the prosecutor’s office.U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros announced the decision to dismiss the remaining charges in court following a closed-door meeting over redacted grand jury transcripts. He told U.S. District Judge April Perry he was unaware until recently of the alleged misconduct, including a prosecutor meeting with a grand juror outside proceedings and other jurors who disagreed with the case being dismissed prevented from participating. Boutros did not dispute the allegations, saying the conduct was upsetting and the reason the case was being dismissed. “No one acted with the intent to mislead your honor, and I think that they were following your order to give the law,” Boutros said.
Boutros, who was appointed by the Trump administration last year, declined to comment further Thursday through a spokesman.The case, slated to go to trial next week, is among the most high-profile cases out of the crackdown that rippled across the nation’s third-largest city and suburbs last year. It is also the latest example of how the Justice Department has struggled to prosecute people accused of assaulting or hindering federal officers while protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
