WORCESTER, Mass. — A jury on Wednesday found former Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj guilty of assault and battery against Worcester police.
It took the jury two hours to convict Haxhiaj, who interfered with an ICE operation in a Worcester neighborhood last May.
She has been sentenced to six months probation and 40 hours of community service.
Two people, a juvenile and a Worcester School Committee candidate, were arrested on May 8, 2025 after chaos erupted and police officers were assaulted on Eureka Terrace in Worcester when federal agents detained a Brazilian woman.
Haxhiaj was among a group of people captured on police body camera videos during the incident.
A link to the full body camera video can be found here.
Soon after the incident, Worcester’s police union called for city officials to conduct an ethics investigation into Haxhiaj, accusing her at the time of using her elected position to incite aggression towards police officers.
Worcester police officers and federal agents ”were threatened, abused and even assaulted on scene," Worcester Police Patrol Officers’ Union Local 911 President Thomas Duffy said at the time.
“Her behavior also emboldened others to act in this manner,” Duffy said in May. “The conduct of this anti-police activist councilor is deplorable and unacceptable.”
During a press conference on May 9, 2025, Haxhiaj, a former District Five councilor, blasted federal and local law enforcement for their response to the Worcester neighborhood.
“The message for ICE is: Get out of our city,” Haxhiaj said during the press conference.
Worcester Police said officers responded to Eureka Terrace around 11:15 a.m. on May 8, 2025 after learning of 25 people reportedly surrounding a federal agent.
Witnesses told Boston 25 News at the time that tensions grew after federal authorities intercepted a family in a BMW with a two-month-old baby in tow.
A crowd of neighbors, community leaders, and immigration activists went to the scene and tried to stop the family from being separated.
Then, things escalated.
Neighbors at the scene accused ICE agents of not having a warrant and wanted to know why they were taking the unidentified woman into custody.
Worcester Police officers were dispatched to Eureka Street for the call from federal law enforcement officers needing assistance “due to a hostile and uncooperative crowd surrounding them,” Duffy said in May.
Officers arriving on scene continued to call for more officers as the scene continued to escalate rapidly.
Ashley Spring, 38, a Worcester School Committee candidate on last November’s ballot, was among those arrested following the incident.
In a statement issued Wednesday following her conviction, Haxhiaj stood by her actions.
“It was important that I publicly challenged systems of power that sustain each-other and hold police behavior to a different standard,” Haxhiaj said.
She said Worcester’s leaders “chose to vilify” civilians who went to Eureka Terrace on May 8, 2025.
“At every juncture, the justice system tried to shame me into admitting something I did not do,” Haxhiaj said. “The Clerk Magistrate argued that my behavior as an elected official should be held to a higher standard, while overlooking the conduct of the Worcester Police.”
“My standard is protecting my constituents and Worcester Police should be held to the same constitutional standard as everyone,” Haxhiaj said. “The special prosecutor asked that I repent by issuing a direct apology, in exchange for dropping the charges with probation. I chose the truth.”
Haxhiaj also said Wednesday she is calling for the establishment of a civilian review board “with subpoena powers, a formal commitment that Worcester Police will protect our residents from federal aggression and a pledge from District Attorney Early to prosecute federal agents who break the law.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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