WORCESTER—District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two charges in connection with a May 8 incident involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Worcester police on Eureka Street, according to multiple reports.
The charges — assault and battery on a police officer and interfering with police during an arrest — were issued in May and later approved at a clerk magistrate hearing in June. The case is being prosecuted by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, which stepped in at the request of the Worcester County DA’s office due to a potential conflict of interest, according to the Telegram & Gazette.
Haxhiaj was arraigned in Worcester District Court and released on personal recognizance, with a motion to dismiss scheduled for Sept. 15, the Telegram reported.
Body cam video footage released by the city in June shows Haxhiaj physically stepping between officers and a woman being taken into custody, pleading for the agents to allow the woman’s children to remain with her. A widely circulated clip captured one of the woman’s teenage daughters being pinned to the pavement by an officer — an image that drew sharp public criticism and renewed scrutiny of local police cooperation with ICE.
Police Chief Paul Saucier said at the time that Haxhiaj was not arrested at the scene in order to de-escalate tensions, but that charges were later pursued based on officers’ accounts and video evidence. “We decided to file a complaint to avoid inflaming the crowd,” Saucier said in a public statement in May.
The woman arrested during the incident, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, was later released from federal custody pending immigration proceedings.
Supporters gathered outside the courthouse Wednesday morning, some holding signs and chanting in support of Haxhiaj.
Haxhiaj has maintained that she acted to protect vulnerable residents and has called the charges “politically motivated.” In a statement following her arraignment, she said she is “resolute and unapologetic in maintaining [her] innocence,” adding that she “will always stand up for [her] constituents, particularly women and children.” She criticized ICE tactics as “armed masked men snatching our people off our streets and neighborhoods,” and said the real hardship lies not in facing criminal charges, but in what immigrant families endure. “It is absolutely nothing compared to Worcester families living in fear of being torn apart,” she said. “Worcester families belong together, and I always — now and forever — stand up and stand by our immigrant brothers and sisters.
This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.
