In October of 2025, I – along with my field director and friend Andre Martin and four other individuals – was indicted for my advocacy and protest against ICE and this administration. Our case, United States v. Rabbitt, is set to go to trial in Chicago federal court on May 26 and the result could determine the future of our constitutional right to free association. These charges are bogus, but regardless of the outcome, the stress, public scrutiny, and financial burdens of this ordeal have forever changed our lives.

Currently, we are facing up to $250,000 in legal debt. Our lawyers are fantastic and we expect to win our case, which the government argued is a “spontaneous conspiracy” – that conspiracy being peacefully protesting outside of the Broadview ICE facility.

As we and our legal team have said from the beginning, dissent and protest is not a conspiracy. After lengthy legal battles, the government dismissed the felony conspiracy charge just weeks before trial. But they did not dismiss all the charges, and we still have trial on the misdemeanor counts for intimidating, interfering, and impeding an ICE agent.

If you are not familiar with myself or my case, I am a 27-year-old researcher and journalist who covers the far-right and ran for Congress in Illinois. Throughout my campaign, I was not just vocal against Donald Trump's secret police, but put my body and reputation on the line during protests. Even if you don’t know my face, you probably saw this video of an ICE agent throwing me to the ground last September. That is not what we were charged for, but it shows what the conditions at Broadview were often like for protestors.

Andre is 27 as well, worked on my campaign, and has devoted his life to helping others through progressive advocacy, particularly surrounding the unhoused. We both love science fiction, petting cats, and cooking increasingly difficult recipes. We’ve worked in the nonprofit sector and progressive politics our entire adult lives – which is largely why we don’t have hundreds of thousands (much less mere thousands) of dollars to spare. We’re people with lives and futures and loved ones.

Even if – or rather, when – we win our trial, our lives and futures will be left in disarray. The administration is using prosecution as a cudgel to ruin dissenting Americans’ lives through the financial and psychological burdens of our legal system. Times are unbelievably difficult right now, so I tried to avoid asking others for money, especially after many donated to our campaign after the indictment for our legal defense. That was a lifeline, but the costs have mounted beyond our expectations.

If you are someone who cares about the Constitution and First Amendment, hates what Donald Trump and his cronies are doing to this country, and has the resources to aid us in our fight against this unjust prosecution, we are asking for your help.

All contributions will go to our legal defense, personal debt accrued over the past 6 months in an effort to pay our lawyers, and anything left will go to the National Lawyers Guild, which helped us find our representation and protects our First Amendment rights every single day through representation, jail support, and trained legal observers.

Thank you to everyone who supported us over the last 6 months. And thank you for helping us win.