* CNI…

In the days following a marked escalation in the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” mass deportation campaign in early October — including the shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration agent and the National Guard’s deployment to Chicago — a panel of grand jurors gathered once again behind closed doors in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

That particular group was nearing the end of its 18-month grand jury service, which began in June 2024, and had so far spent hundreds of hours hearing evidence brought by various federal prosecutors and signing off on indictments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg, a near two-decade veteran of the Department of Justice, had appeared in front of that grand jury enough times to develop a sort of bond with the group.

That bond, she told the grand jurors on Oct. 9, 2025, led her to ask her superiors if she could wait to present “a very interesting case” to them.

Transcripts are here, here and here.

* Sun-Times…

“I would never ask you to charge somebody if I didn’t think there was probable cause and, you know, you’ve asked me before ‘well, what about this person?’” Mecklenburg told the panel. “And I said, ‘I don’t charge people unless I’m absolutely sure.’” […]

The grand jury apparently rejected the case Oct. 9, prompting Mecklenburg and Skiba to try again Oct. 16. Grand jurors actually walked out of the proceedings that day, court records show. That’s also when a grand juror asked Mecklenburg whether the feds get “unlimited tries.”

“I hope you don’t have your mind made up already that I’m going to need more tries,” Mecklenburg said.

But a member of the panel soon asked, “are you actually presenting any new actual facts or just a different viewpoint on your side?”

That’s when Mecklenburg asked if the grand juror would be able to listen with an open mind. The grand juror retorted, “I heard this case, like, last week and I thought it was a crock of sh– then and I still think it is.”

Mecklenburg told the grand juror to “excuse yourself.”

Federal rules of criminal procedure only empower “the court” to excuse a grand juror. In Chicago, that would be U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia Kendall.

* CBS 2…

“Are you actually presenting any new actual facts or just a different viewpoint from your side?” the skeptical juror asks.

“Okay. I’m feeling the skepticism already. Are you going to be able to listen with an open mind? Tell me the truth,” Mecklenburg responds.

“I—no,” the juror replies.

“Okay. Then you have to go,” Mecklenburg says.

“I heard this case, like, last week and I thought it was a crock of s*** then and I still think it is,” the grand juror says.

“Okay. Thank you for your opinion for everybody,” Mecklenburg says. “I kind of had that impression from last week, but thank you.”

“Do you have any other evidence other than [inaudible],” the juror asks, according to the transcript.

“Have a good evening,” Mecklenburg replies. […]

The transcripts also include instances in which Mecklenburg appears to testify on behalf of agents who were involved in the protest incident, defending them to questioning jurors, defense attorneys said. In another instance, she tells the grand jurors that no law enforcement took video of the incident in question, which attorneys say is factually untrue.

* Tribune…

“I would never ask you to charge somebody if I didn’t think there was probable cause,” Mecklenburg said, according to the transcript. “So in this case I want you to do what we have done and that is put aside any personal feelings.”

Mecklenburg then walked through the basics of the case — a supervisor at the processing center, identified as a facilities manager for the building — was heading to report to the building when a crowd of people surrounded his car.

“They are banging on the hood and they are banging on the windows and they are pushing up against — they’re standing in front of the car,” Mecklenburg said. “They’re chanting, they’re scratching into the car.” […]

The transcript shows grand jurors were skeptical about Mecklenburg’s characterization of the defendants’ actions as conspiracy.

“I understand the hindering and impeding,” one juror said. “But the conspiring?”

“A conspiracy is just an agreement,” Mecklenburg responded, according to the transcript.

Mecklenburg argued that everyone at the scene was responsible for the events that occurred that morning.

* WTTW…

Transcripts show grand jurors had questions about whether any of the damage to the vehicle could have occurred prior to the incident and asked why the agent driving never felt the need to call for backup if he felt he was in danger.

When asked why only those six people were charged, Mecklenburg said the investigation into the incident was ongoing, and suggested she could be back before the grand jury in the future to seek additional indictments, according to the transcripts.