Judge releases transcripts showing misconduct in Six case

A federal judge in Chicago released explosive grand jury transcripts this week, revealing significant prosecutorial misconduct that led to the collapse of the high-profile "Broadview Six" case last month. The documents, made public by U.S. District Judge April Perry on Tuesday, detail a flawed three-week effort by federal prosecutors to secure an indictment against six activists who protested outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, in September 2025.

The transcripts show Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg and her colleagues presented the case to a grand jury on three consecutive Thursdays in October 2025. The grand jury initially refused to return an indictment. When prosecutors returned a week later, they faced explicit skepticism, with one grand juror calling the case "a crock of shit." In that October 16 session, Mecklenburg dismissed that juror after they stated they could not listen with an open mind, and a second juror was excused after saying they could not vote. The session was abruptly halted without a vote.

Before the third presentation on October 23, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros made a rare appearance before the grand...