DOJ prosecutor accused of botching anti-ICE protest case ousted by Dem senator

A senator dismissed a Department of Justice prosecutor who led a botched case against six protesters and is now being accused of misconduct, according to new reports.

Sheri Mecklenburg is a 20-year veteran DOJ prosecutor, according to Talking Points Memo reporter Josh Marshall. She led the case against the "Broadview Six," a group of protesters who were federally charged after demonstrating in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Illinois last year.

In February, Mecklenburg suddenly withdrew from the case and took on a temporary assignment with the criminal justice team for Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, according to reporting by NOTUS.

"She made no mention that she'd be leaving in a court hearing earlier in Feb. There was really no explanation for the suddenness of the move. Or at least the lack of heads up," Marshall explained in a post on Bluesky. "At the time I figured since the case seemed like such a loser maybe she just wanted out."

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced on Friday that Mecklenburg was dismissed from that role, according to NOTUS and Talking Points Memo.

The decision comes on the heels of courtroom drama related to the Broadview Six case. On Thursday, Judge April Perry ordered DOJ prosecutors to appear in court to explain what she believed was misconduct in how they sought an indictment from a grand jury, and the case came to a swift and sudden end shortly after when a U.S. Attorney dropped all charges days before a trial was set to begin.

Perry said she had "never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior" that were on display by DOJ prosecutors, including Mecklenburg, before a grand jury in 2025.

According to Marshall's Thursday post on Bluesky, "if you look at the hearing transcript today most or all the alleged misconduct was hers."