Agitator who attacked Savanah Hernandez at anti-ICE protest previously convicted of unemployment fraud

The man accused of attacking conservative journalist Savanah Hernandez outside an ICE federal building in Minnesota allegedly has a prior conviction of defrauding the state’s unemployment program.

Chris Ostroushko was recorded on video shoving Hernandez to the ground while she was filming outside the ICE facility last week. He incidentally followed an altercation involving Ostroushko, his wife, his daughter, and the Frontlines reporter.

On Monday, CrimeWatchMpls reported that Ostroushko had been convicted in 2005 of improperly receiving unemployment benefits while employed. According to a complaint, he applied for unemployment insurance benefits through an online application in 2002 and began receiving weekly benefits of $452 in January of 2023. The payments continued through July 12, during which he reported having no income.

However, the Minnesota Department of Economic Security determined that Ostroushko was working for Becker Carpet Service while collecting the benefits. “As a result of this unreported income, Ostroushko received $6,905 in unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled,” the complaint stated.

A court document showed that Ostroushko, who was in his late 20s at the time, received a stay of execution on his sentence and was discharged from probation in under two years.

Hernandez reacted to this report, writing on x, “Apparently Chris Ostroushko is also a [Minneapolis] FRAUDSTER and was convicted of defrauding the state unemployment program back in the early 2000s.”

The report comes amid ongoing scrutiny in Minneapolis regarding allegations of rampant fraud among members of the community. 

A video posted Sunday on social media by Hernandez showed the moment Ostroushko pushed her to the ground. Hernandez later said she woke up the next day with a “headache and stiff neck this morning due to how violently anti-ICE activist, Chris Ostroushko” shoved her. Following the incident, Ostroushko, along with his daughter and her boyfriend, were detained.