Charges dropped against couple in Broadview immigration protest after federal grand jury refuses to indict

[Jilly_in_VA]

A federal grand jury has refused to indict a Chicago couple arrested during a violent protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview last month, a rare move that prompted prosecutors to abruptly drop the case and signals government overreach in bringing the charges in the first place.

After the charges were officially dropped in court Wednesday morning, Richard Kling, the attorney for one of the defendants, called the grand jury’s rejection of the case an “extraordinary happenstance,” especially in Chicago’s federal court.

“I think the grand jurors in the Northern District (of Illinois) stood up for the First Amendment right to protest, and also reject Gestapo-like troops on the streets of Chicago and neighboring communities,” Kling said.

Ray Collins, 21, and Jocelyne Robledo, 30, a husband and wife from the South Side of Chicago, were each allegedly carrying loaded guns with them as they scuffled with officers who were trying to widen a security perimeter during a melee in late September.

Both have lawful permits to carry the firearms, but they were facing felony charges of assaulting or resisting a federal officer in performance of official duties, which carries up to 8 years in prison.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/08/charges-dropped-couple-broadview-protest-grand-jury/

Feds keep coming up with weak cases.....