Gen Z House hopeful rage quits interview when asked about DOJ indictment
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A day after Gen Z House candidate Kat Abugazaleh was federally charged for her role blocking immigration officers outside an Illinois detention facility, she angrily walked out of an interview when asked about her accusations.
On Thursday, Abughazaleh joined Tara Palmeri on her podcast; This followed an indictment filed by a grand jury alleging that the Illinois congressional candidate “physically restrained and impeded” a federal agent who was “forced to drive at an extremely slow speed to prevent injury to any of the co-conspirators.” Abuhazaleh was one of six men named in the indictment, which alleges that in addition to hitting, pushing, obstructing and vandalizing the car, the suspects also carved the word “PIG” into the side of a vehicle driven by a federal immigration officer.
“Did he just sign? Did he leave the conversation?” Palmeri was questioned after Abuhazaleh spontaneously walked out of the virtual meeting after being asked only one or two questions about the charges against him and their seriousness. “I’m so confused. I’m sorry, I don’t know what just happened. Um… okay. He asked… he left because I asked him questions about what happened that day. Okay, I guess I’ll just keep talking on my own. This is weird.”
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The Congressional hopeful accused of obstructing ICE agents dropped out when pressed about federal charges related to his protests at an immigration detention facility in Illinois. (Tara Palmeri Show)
Abuhazaleh’s sudden outburst came after Palmeri appeared frustrated with his questions about the federal charges.
“What do you think of these accusations, they seem really serious?” Palmeri asked Abughazaleh, noting that they included charges of “conspiring to obstruct or injure an ICE officer” and “assaulting or obstructing that officer.”
“These are pretty big accusations,” Palmeri said.
Abuhazaleh said he “thinks” the charges are “a little different,” but added that he plans to plead not guilty “regardless of the charges in the indictment.” “This is a political investigation, plain and simple.”
But Palmeri continued to press the Gen Z candidate on the seriousness of his accusations, specifically whether he was partial to a federal immigration officer carving the word “PIG” into the side of his car.
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Abughazaleh responded with a much different tone than at the beginning of the argument: “I’m not talking about the specifics of anything in the indictment right now, but as I said, I plan to plead not guilty and the evidence will come out in court and I plan to win.”
Palmeri then played a video recording of the incident alleged in the indictment; Here, Abugazaleh was seen blocking a fire officer’s car with a large group of protesters, which was clearly the final straw for him.
“When you see this, what are you thinking right now?” Palmeri asked.
“Yes, Tara, once again, as I said, this is my first time being charged at the federal level,” Abuhazaleh responded. “I plan to plead not guilty, the evidence will come out in court and I plan to win. Thank you so much for having me.”
After Abuhazaleh’s answer, his camera disappeared, but Palmari seemed unaware that he was gone and immediately began asking another question before realizing what had happened.
When Palmari realized the situation, he said in disbelief, “Yeah, I guess, it’s – it’s – I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” “I’m sorry,” he added, before noting that the young congressional candidate will have to get used to answering tough questions if he wants to serve in Congress.
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Palmeri continued of the accusations after Abuhazaleh’s departure, saying, “It could impede his ability to serve in Congress, make it more difficult; you know, some people might not vote for him, but at the same time he probably raised a ton of money from it.”
Palmeri continued: “I don’t understand why he left the conversation. I thought I was asking pretty basic questions, and I don’t know, if he wants to be a member of Congress, that doesn’t bode well.” “I guess it would be better to just talk about it, but how is he going to handle representing an entire district if he can’t take a few questions from me about what’s going on?”
Fox News Digital reached out to Abuhazaleh’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response by publication time.
