Conservatives rip Gen Z House candidate’s First Amendment claim after federal indictment

Conservatives are not holding back on social media after Gen Z congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was indicted by the Justice Department Wednesday for blocking vehicles outside a federal immigration facility last month.

Abughazaleh “physically hindered and impeded” a federal agent who was “forced to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed to avoid injuring any of the conspirators,” according to the indictment. The charges stem from Abughazaleh’s protesting at a Broadview, Illinois immigration detention center, where law enforcement has been forced to make arrests and take non-lethal measures to control angry protesters.

After news of the indictment hit the internet, many conservatives posted the acronym “FAFO” on social media, which stands for “F–k Around And Find Out.” Others took the opportunity to highlight Abughazaleh’s relationship with satirical news site The Onion’s CEO, Ben Collins, and her history working for the left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters for America. One person pointed out she used to bartend before entering politics, similar to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., before she was elected.  

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“This nut job Democrat running for Congress physically pushed and obstructed an ICE vehicle from conducting official business, got indicted, and is now saying it was ‘free speech,’ conservative strategist Rogan O’Handley said on X. “FAFO.”

“Far-left congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, who worked for leftist group Media Matters, has been federally indicted,” said conservative journalist and commentator Andy Ngo. “She was recorded on video physically obstructing government officials. She’s lying on social media, saying her speech is under attack.”

“Nobody is above the law,” Article III Project Founder Mike Davis posted on X.

“You surrounded and physically blocked a federal agent’s car because illegal aliens are being deported,” former Trump White House staffer Greg Price posted on X, responding to a clip of Abughazaleh saying her First Amendment rights were being trampled on.

“LOL just found out that Kat Abughazaleh is dating Ben Collins,” said Will Chamberlain, senior counsel for the Internet Accountability Project and the Article III Project. “Perhaps the brazen criminality was just a desperate way to escape his clutches.”

“This former Media Matters blogger-turned congressional candidate attacked and impeded federal officers at an ICE facility and is now playing the victim when accountability comes,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha posted on X. “Par for the course. She’ll now be all over MSNBC and CNN. Guaranteed.”

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But, Illinois Democrats directly competing against Abughazaleh to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, decided to steer clear of condemning their opponent and instead focused their ire on federal immigration officials and the Trump administration. 

Abughazaleh responded to the indictment by posting a video on X, saying, “This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment.”

Evanston Illinois Mayor Daniel Bliss (D) and Democratic state Sen. Laura Fine, both running against Abughazaleh, echoed Abughazaleh’s message of political persecution by the Trump administration after news of the indictment came down. 

“The only people engaged in violent and dangerous behavior at Broadview have been ICE,” Bliss said of the indictment against Abughazaleh, which also included charges against five other protesters, according to local paper Evanston Now. 

“As someone who has protested at Broadview multiple times, I know these protests are nonviolent demonstrations against the kidnapping of our neighbors,” Bliss continued. “Now, the Trump administration is targeting protesters, including political candidates, in an effort to silence dissent and scare residents into submission. It won’t work.”

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“Today it’s Kat. Tomorrow it could be any one of us,” Fine wrote in a press release she shared on social media. “This administration wants to rob us of our empathy – to make us afraid to fight for one another. But we cannot abandon the values that make us who we are. We’re a community that shows up, links arms, and refuses to look away. No indictment, no threat, no act of intimidation will change that.”