CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors said Thursday they plan to narrow conspiracy allegations and review “newly unearthed” evidence 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.

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 Thursday, 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William 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 U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros.

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

Hogan, who was brought in on the case last week after the lead prosecutor left for a detail in Washington D.C., also said his team would review new evidence “unearthed” by the defense as they decide how to proceed — an apparent reference to bodycam footage from Broadview police officers on the scene that day.

In a motion filed Monday, the defendants said the videos show that during the incident, defendant Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, a candidate in the March 17 Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District seat, moved away from the agents’ vehicle she was allegedly impeding, grabbed a megaphone and told the crowd, “That’s private property back there — come back.”

The footage also showed other defendants, including Joselyn Walsh, a folk singer who was carrying her guitar, “independently moved away from the SUV” within seconds of finding themselves in its path, the defense motion said.

Defense attorney Josh Herman, who represents Abughazaleh, said in court Thursday they need a fuller explanation of what prosecutors plan to prove in court in order to form a proper defense, For example, he said, will the government argue that “banging and bracing against the hood” of a car is a use of “force”?

“One of your natural reactions is to put your hand on the car and try to make it stop,” Herman said. “Someone might argue ‘I’m entitled to do (that) in self defense.'”

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

“I’m not going to force you to go to trial on something you don’t think is supported by the evidence,” the judge said.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin May 26.

In addition to Abughazaleh, 26, three other Democrats are charged in the indictment: former Cook County Board candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp, 29; 45th Ward Democratic Committeeman Michael Rabbit, 62; and Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw, 38.

Also charged were Andre Martin, 27, originally of Providence, Rhode Island, who is Abughazaleh’s deputy campaign manager, and Walsh, 31, a garden store worker who has no personal connection to the other defendants.

The charges have been met by accusations that the Department of Justice under Republican President Donald Trump was prosecuting free speech and trying to punish political opponents.

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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