Three family members assaulted a journalist who writes for a conservative organization during a protest against immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Christopher and DeYanna Ostroushko and their daughter, Paige, were each charged by a federal grand jury with one count of assault. The indictment additionally charges Christopher and Paige each with one count of interfering with a federally protected activity.
Christopher Ostroushko also faces state charges of misdemeanor assault, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Attorneys for the Ostroushkos said they will mount a strong defense, emphasizing that an indictment doesn't mean the family has been convicted of any crime.
Community members have continued to protest in opposition to immigration enforcement efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration in the weeks since federal officers’ presence in the Twin Cities was dramatically scaled back. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has used the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling as a short-term holding facility, and the area out front has become a hub of anti-ICE activity.
Widely shared video taken by Turning Point USA contributor Savanah Hernandez outside the Whipple building on April 11 begins with Paige blowing a whistle close to Hernandez’s face. Video from other vantage points shows Hernandez with her hand protecting her face, sometimes pushing back against Paige. The two then tussle.
Hernandez says, “Get away from me.”
Paige pushes Hernandez, who falls back against a fence.
In the moments after, DeYanna and Christopher separately confront Hernandez, as does Paige again.
Christopher Ostroushko “forcefully shoved the victim in the back, head first to the ground," the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in its statement. It also said there was insufficient evidence to bring state charges against the others involved.
Throughout, others on the scene tried to de-escalate and separate them.
After the April 11 incident, Hernandez said her glasses were broken, she was concussed with a sore neck and back, and her legs were scraped, according to posts on the social platform X. She wrote that she was talking with police about pressing charges.
James Cook, an attorney representing the family, said the videos that have circulated don’t show everything, and he believes the family will be able to provide a “vigorous defense.”
“We think that there's a lot of things in the videos that provide a means to exonerate," he said.
The family was regular protesters at the Whipple building to provide “a voice and a demonstration against Metro Surge," Cook said. He added the Ostroushkos have since been threatened online, and DeYanna and Christopher have both lost their jobs.
“They wish they could turn back the clock,” Cook said. “They wish that things didn’t turn out how they did.”
The Ostroushkos were summoned to appear before a federal judge on May 12.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Wednesday that the Department of Justice will always “punish unhinged acts of political violence.”
“Hernandez was allegedly surrounded, physically assaulted, and shoved to the ground — simply because she was identified by the defendants as a conservative journalist,” Blanche said. “That is NOT ‘peaceful protest.’”
Hernandez said in a post that she was “incredibly grateful to see our justice system at work.” Hernandez did not immediately reply to a request for comment via email or direct message.
FILE - Protesters gather outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker, File)
MADRID (AP) — Anastasia Potapova dropped to her knees, put both hands on her face and started crying.
The “explosion of emotions inside” came after the 56th-ranked Potapova beat Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Wednesday at the Madrid Open to become the first “lucky loser” to reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event.
She almost gave up the victory, squandering three match points in the second set and having to come back from 3-1 down in the third against the former No. 1-ranked player. It's been an impressive run considering Potapova lost in the qualifying tournament and only got a place in the main draw as a so-called lucky loser following the withdrawal of another player.
“I (had) a few match points in the second set, on serve, but I couldn't manage my nerves at that time,” she said. “It seems that this tournament keeps giving me second chances and I keep using them. So yeah, supper happy.”
Russia-born Potapova said she got a boost when her boyfriend, Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor, arrived to watch.
“I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set. I didn’t believe in myself at that moment,” she said. “But big respect to my boyfriend who came just on time. He kept telling me, ‘You can do this, we are all together here, just keep going.’”
Potapova said Griekspoor is “not scared” of telling her anything.
“I just played, and mentally he kept me there,” she said. “It just happened at the such important moment, and it gave me a lot of energy. Mentally, I think he got this match. I did it physically. He did it mentally.”
She next will face Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 6-0.
The women's tour said Potapova was the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 or Tier I semifinal since the format’s inception in 1990. She has won four straight matches, including against world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the round of 16.
“I didn’t expect myself being in the draw again because at first they didn’t take my name as a lucky loser,” she said. “And then the days kept on going and nobody was injured or pulling out. Then the last moment I got the information, literally 30 minutes before the (first-round) match, that I was given a chance to step on court here again.”
She said she had been just enjoying “some nice days” in the Spanish capital, with no expectations.
“Maybe that’s the key. You don’t need to be always so zoomed in and so locked in on the tournament,” Potapova said. “Maybe it’s just a matter of sometimes just enjoy yourself and enjoy the journey.”
She said it feels like “a miracle” to have advanced so far.
“It’s pretty rare when you get the second chance and that you go almost all the way,” Potapova said. “But ... I always say, if you got it, maybe you deserved it. I’m happy that I didn’t waste it, and I was able to convert it and to be here now.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic reacts during her match against Anastasia Potapova of Russia during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia returns the ball to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia reacts during her match against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia reacts during her match against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia returns the ball to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
