Published on: Sept 19, 2025 11:45 pm IST
Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh is running for Congress in Illinois’s 9th District in 2026.
Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was violently thrown to the ground by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a protest near Chicago on Friday, according to videos circulating widely on social media.
Abughazaleh, who is running for Congress in Illinois’s 9th District in 2026, responded to the incident on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights.”
“What ICE just did to me was a violent abuse of power — and it’s still nothing compared to what they’re doing to immigrant communities,” she added. “I’ve been fighting the right as a journalist and now I’m running for Congress to do the same in DC.”
Who is Kat Abughazaleh?
Kat Abughazaleh is a former journalist who gained national attention during her time at Media Matters for America, where she became known for her pointed critiques of Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Her work has also appeared in Mother Jones and The New Republic.
In March 2025, Abughazaleh officially launched her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, seeking to represent Illinois’s 9th congressional district.
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