CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors on Thursday abruptly moved to drop charges against two defendants in the politically charged “Broadview Six” case accusing a group of Democrats and other protesters of conspiring to block and damage an immigration agent’s vehicle outside the ICE facility in Broadview in September.

In a one-paragraph filing, the U.S. attorney’s office moved to dismiss the indictment against Catherine Sharp, a onetime candidate for Cook County Board, and Joselyn Walsh, a part-time garden store worker and singer, “in the interests of justice.”

“As the United States Attorney’s Office does in every case, the government has continued to evaluate new facts, evidence and information to ensure that the interests of justice are served,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Hogan and Matthew Skiba.

The motion asked U.S. District Judge April Perry to dismiss the counts “with prejudice,” meaning they cannot be refiled.

The motion comes after a week of behind-the-scenes discussions between defense attorneys for the six defendants in the case, who have claimed that surveillance video and police body camera footage not only failed to show any sort of conspiracy, but also that at least some of those charged barely even touched the vehicle that was damaged.

If the judge approves the move, only four other defendants would remain: Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, a candidate in the March 17 Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District seat; Andre Martin, originally of Providence, Rhode Island, who is Abughazaleh’s deputy campaign manager; 45th Ward Democratic Committeeman Michael Rabbit; and Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin May 26.

Sharp’s attorney, Molly Armour, told the Tribune on Thursday they were “elated” that the case against her was being dropped, and that the U.S. attorney’s office should continue to evaluate the remaining cases, “which should be dismissed” as well.

Sharp, who withdrew from the race for Cook County Board to focus on her case, later released a written statement saying that while she was happy with the outcome, “ICE’s abuse of immigrants and refugees in our communities continues.”

“Furthermore, it remains clear that none of the defendants in this case should have been charged,” Sharp said. “I am confident that all six of us will be vindicated.”

In her own written statement, Walsh said the motion to dismiss will not change “the disruption” the indictment had caused in her life or “that I was a victim of ICE violence when they shot my guitar and that many continue to experience violence at the hands of federal agents in Chicago and across the country.”

Attorneys for Abughazaleh, who is on the ballot for Tuesday’s Democratic primary, also applauded the government’s decision, but said the charges in the “misguided case” should have never been brought against any of the six, who were “lawfully exercising their First Amendment right to protest and dissent.”

“As the government continues to try and figure out what it is now calling a ‘spontaneous conspiracy’ charge, we will continue to fight the baseless case and are confident that Kat will be vindicated,” attorney Joshua Herman said.

Attorneys for the other remaining defendants expressed similar views. Rabbit’s attorney, Nancy DePodesta, said in a statement “the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not go far enough,” while Christopher Parente, who represents Straw, said he was “gravely concerned by what appears to be an intensification of the government’s desire to selectively prosecute public officials and political figures in this case.”

“The remaining co-defendants all have publicly known government and political positions,” Parente said. “My client did nothing wrong. And while I am confident we will prevail in court, we all should be troubled by the potential chilling effect this prosecution has on public servants nationwide.”

The indictment, which is the last remaining high-profile criminal case stemming from last fall’s Operation Midway Blitz, alleged the defendants used “force, intimidation, and threat” to injure the agent and his property “so as to interrupt, hinder, and impede him in the discharge of his official duties.”

Defense attorneys for weeks have tried to get the government to provide a detailed account of the scope of the alleged conspiracy, arguing the evidence laid out in the charges as criminal appeared to be “constitutionally protected acts of dissent against the administration’s immigration enforcement actions.”

At a status hearing in the case last month, prosecutors confirmed for the first time that they intend to show the conspiracy was “spontaneous” and not preplanned, and that there no explicitly stated agreements between the conspirators.

Hogan also told the judge they intended to redact the indictment to remove the “injure” clause, and could narrow it even further, though they were still consulting with superiors on the matter, including Boutros.

“We’re going to take a look at everything,” he said.

Perry gave prosecutors until March 31 to make their redactions to the indictment and confer with the defense on other evidentiary issues.

According to the 11-page indictment, the group surrounded an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle outside the Broadview facility during a Sept. 26 protest and “banged aggressively” on the vehicle’s side and back windows, hood and doors before they “crowded together in the front and side of the Government Vehicle and pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement.”

Prosecutors allege the protesters scratched the vehicle’s body, broke a side mirror and a rear windshield wiper, and etched the word “PIG” into the paint.

The indictment includes the conspiracy count, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in federal prison, as well as several other counts of forcibly impeding a federal officer, each punishable by up to one year in federal prison.

All six have pleaded not guilty.

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