Yet just as Rabbitt and his co-defendants were headed for trial in late May, the case collapsed amid stunning allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, including grand jury manipulation. Later, the US attorney Andrew Boutros, the federal prosecutor who leads the US Department of Justice’s Chicago office, showed up personally to drop all charges.

The case has come to symbolize what critics view as the Trump administration’s efforts to recast constitutionally protected dissent as criminal conduct. In Trump’s second term, federal law enforcement has aggressively pursued protesters who oppose his immigration agenda. But in case after case, prosecutors have been largely dealt stinging defeats by judges and juries.

Meanwhile, the Broadview Six defendants say dismissing a case that should have never been brought does little to set things right.