Three members of the same family have been charged in connection with a confrontation outside the Whipple Federal Building that turned an anti-ICE protest into a federal case. The charges against Christopher Ostroushko, Deyanna Marie Ostroushko and Paige Ostroushko were unsealed April 29, two weeks after reporter Savanah Hernandez said she was “mobbed and assaulted” at the demonstration.
Hernandez, who reports for Turning Point USA, said she was twice shoved to the ground during the April 11 protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota. Video of the clash spread across news outlets in the United States, and the federal government moved in with charges that Prosecutor Todd Blanche said reflected a direct attack on a journalist singled out for her politics. Blanche said Hernandez was “allegedly surrounded, physically assaulted, and shoved to the ground — simply because she was identified by the defendants as a conservative journalist,” adding that the conduct was “not ‘peaceful protest.’”
Christopher Ostroushko and Paige Ostroushko were charged with interference with a federally protected activity and assault. Deyanna Ostroushko was charged with assault. All three were charged by summons and are due in court May 12. The same day the federal charges were unsealed, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed a misdemeanor fifth-degree assault charge against Christopher Ostroushko.
County prosecutors said Christopher Ostroushko “forcefully shoved the victim in the back, head first to the ground,” and said there was not enough evidence to charge anyone else who was arrested that day. At least four arrests were made after the April 11 clash. County Attorney Mary Moriarty said, “After a thorough review of the available evidence, the fifth-degree assault charge was determined to be appropriate.”
The case has become a touchstone for a broader fight over political violence and policing at protests. Daniel Rosen said, “Political violence is a national scourge and federal law enforcement will not tolerate it.” Hernandez said on X that she was “EXTREMELY grateful to the (Department of Justice) for moving so swiftly on this.”
The family has also said the encounter began differently. Paige Ostroushko said, “This led to emotional distress and a confrontation,” after Hernandez laughed about sexual assaults occurring in ICE detention centers. James Cook said the husband and wife have lost their jobs over the allegations, and that their daughter’s pursuit of a professional soccer career is now in jeopardy. The question now is less whether the clash was recorded — it was — than how far the federal case and the county case will go when the three defendants appear in court May 12.