Chicago prosecutor resigns after failed case against immigration protesters

A federal prosecutor involved in the failed case against six protesters in the Chicago area has resigned, saying she was being blamed for a felony prosecution that she had opposed. Sheri Mecklenburg said in a letter to Andrew Boutros, the US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, that she was “retiring under protest”. She accused Boutros of directing the felony case and later placing responsibility on her after it collapsed.

The case concerned protests last autumn against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Prosecutors sought felony charges against six people accused of conspiring to impede an officer during a demonstration at an immigration detention facility in Broadview, a Chicago suburb. A grand jury twice declined to indict the group after Mecklenburg presented the evidence.

The charges later fell apart, and Boutros’ office dismissed the case in May. The protesters, known as the Broadview Six, have accused Mecklenburg of misconduct in her dealings with jurors. They have asked US District Judge April M.

Perry to impose sanctions. The judge is scheduled to hear oral arguments on October 1. In her letter, Mecklenburg said she had been forced to choose between remaining silent while her professional reputation was damaged and ending her career early.

Her attorney declined to comment, while Boutros’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a court filing, Mecklenburg said the US Attorney’s Office had previously barred her from filing documents on her own behalf and warned that she could face discipline or dismissal. An attorney for one former defendant said her resignation had raised serious factual disputes about how the prosecution began.