Christopher Ostroushko, Deyanna Ostroushko, and Paige Ostroushko were charged with assaulting Hernandez during protests against the Trump administration’s ICE operations in the city, with Christopher Ostroushko and Paige Ostroushko also being charged with willfully and forcefully injuring and intimidating Hernandez.
Hernandez was reporting on an anti-ICE protest outside the Whipple Federal Building on April 11 when she was surrounded by protesters. Videos of the incident show Hernandez being pushed several times by demonstrators. The Whipple Building is home to the regional ICE field office for Minnesota and has been the scene of protests since Operation Metro Surge was launched in December.
“These three individuals were indicted by a grand jury for allegedly assaulting journalist and Turning Point USA contributor Savannah Hernandez, while she was lawfully reporting on anti-ICE protests outside a federal building in St. Paul,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“Hernandez was allegedly surrounded, physically assaulted, and shoved to the ground — simply because she was identified by the defendants as a conservative journalist. That is NOT ‘peaceful protest.’ These deplorable actions as charged in the indictment will not be tolerated in America, and this Department of Justice will always punish unhinged acts of political violence,” he added.
Videos recorded by Hernandez and onlookers show protesters shouting and blowing whistles before a physical altercation broke out. Bystanders attempted to de-escalate the situation.
Hernandez could be heard yelling, “Get away from me,” when a man in a blue sweatshirt walked up and shoved her to the pavement.
Two people were initially reported to have been indicted before the indictment was unsealed, revealing the third.
Hernandez shared news of the indictment on her social media accounts, saying she was “incredibly grateful.”
“HUGE UPDATE: Turns out that Chris, Paige and Deyanna Ostroushko will ALL be facing federal charges for assaulting me. It was initially reported that only 2 of the 3 would be facing charges, however, Acting AG Todd Blanche, has just announced that ALL THREE were indicted and will be facing charges,” she wrote.
“Thank you to the DOJ and FBI for doing everything they can to ensure that justice is fully served in this case,” she continued. “I am incredibly grateful to see our justice system at work.”
Speaking with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, Hernandez recounted the incident, voice shaking, and explained that she was not attempting to interview any of the protesters while reporting for the conservative advocacy group when the situation turned violent.
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“I, um, I’m scared to report, Laura,” Hernandez said. “This is my job. It’s what I’ve been doing for the last six years, and I’m terrified to do my job. I can’t even interview people properly on the street because I got brutally assaulted and pushed to the ground by a 250-pound man.”
Hernandez added that she made a point not to engage because she knows “the left-wing is violent,” alleging the same type of group is responsible for TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination last year.