WORCESTER—Former Worcester District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj was found guilty Wednesday of assault and battery on a police officer but not guilty of interfering with police, following a two-day trial stemming from a chaotic ICE arrest on Eureka Street last May.
The six-member jury reached its verdict around 3 p.m. Feb. 11, according to the Telegram & Gazette. Judge Zachary M. Hillman sentenced Haxhiaj to six months of probation and 40 hours of community service, taking into account letters submitted on her behalf and her lack of prior offenses, the newspaper reported.
The charges arose from a May 8, 2025, incident in which federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to arrest a 40-year-old Brazilian woman on Eureka Street. Worcester police responded after federal agents requested assistance, citing what union officials described at the time as a “hostile and uncooperative crowd.”
Police body camera footage shown at trial captured Haxhiaj placing herself between federal agents and the woman being detained, at one point demanding to see a warrant. Video also showed her making contact with Worcester Police Officer Shauna McGuirk.
McGuirk testified, according to WCVB-TV, that as she tried to escort Haxhiaj away from a vehicle, “she pushed me with both hands … making me stumble back.” Haxhiaj, taking the stand in her own defense, said she was not the aggressor.
“I did not shove the officer,” she testified, as reported by WCVB. “I was protecting myself by putting distance between myself and her body.”
Defense attorney Elizabeth Halloran argued that McGuirk used excessive force and that Haxhiaj was entitled to defend herself. Special prosecutor Steven E. Gagne, from the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, pressed Haxhiaj on whether she had been elected “to disobey orders” or “to get into the middle of police situations and put your hands on officers,” questions to which she answered no, according to the Telegram.
Gagne later said in a statement, reported by multiple outlets, “Peaceful political protest is a protected and cherished constitutional right, while physical assault on law enforcement officers is not. Today’s verdict reinforces that distinction.”
The Worcester District Attorney’s Office had requested the case be handled by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office due to a conflict of interest, WCVB reported.
Outside the courthouse, supporters gathered and cheered as Haxhiaj addressed the crowd. “Today, the truth did not win,” she said, according to both WCVB and the Telegram.
In a statement posted to social media later in the day, Haxhiaj said she was “overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love” and defended her actions at the scene.
“My sole intention of going to that area was to perform the duties I was elected to do as a city councilor,” she testified during trial, reports the T&G. In her written statement, she added, “My standard is protecting my constituents and Worcester police should be held to the same constitutional standard as everyone.”
Haxhiaj also renewed her call for “three immediate actions,” including the establishment of a civilian review board with subpoena power, a formal commitment from Worcester police to protect residents from what she called “federal aggression,” and a pledge from District Attorney Joseph Early to prosecute federal agents who break the law.
The Worcester Police Patrol Officers’ Union Local 911 praised the verdict. “Last November city residents sent a strong message in our local election and today Etel Haxhiaj was convicted by a jury of her peers for assault and battery on a Worcester police officer,” union president Thomas Duffy II said in a statement. “We can never allow or tolerate violence of any kind to be directed at any member of law enforcement. In recent days we have seen multiple officers shot in Spencer and Fall River, we continue to pray for their recovery. We ask that God always protect members of law enforcement as they perform this dangerous job. I want to thank the overwhelming majority of citizens of this city who show support for our officers as they perform a difficult and dangerous job daily.
Duffy has previously been critical of Haxhiaj, particularly after the Eureka Street incident.
The case drew national attention, including coverage in the New York Times during Haxhiaj’s reelection campaign. She ultimately lost her November bid to José A. Rivera, who was endorsed by the patrol officers union.
Haxhiaj and her attorney said they are considering an appeal.
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