More than 100 Illinois officials on Thursday condemned the federal indictment of a progressive congressional candidate in the state and five others tied to protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in a suburb near Chicago.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) and six U.S. representatives for the state were among those who signed on to the open letter that said the charges against several political candidates and officials were meant to “scare all of us into staying quiet.”

“The politicization of our justice system crosses a fundamental line that should alarm anyone who cares about democracy and the rule of law,” the letter reads. “This is not what democracy looks like, and we cannot accept it as normal.”

The indictment, unsealed

See Full Page