The Minnesota father and daughter accused of allegedly assaulting a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) reporter during an anti-ICE protest have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.
Christopher Ostroushko, 51, and his daughter Paige Ostroushko, 20, appeared in federal court on Tuesday after they were indicted last month in regard to the attack against Savanah Hernandez.
DeYanna Ostroushko, Christopher’s wife and Paige’s mother, also pleaded not guilty as she was also charged in connection with the confrontation outside the Whipple Federal Building on April 11.
The dramatic incident was caught on video, showing anti-ICE protesters suddenly surrounding Hernandez after discovering her affiliation with Charlie Kirk‘s non-profit.
The group then followed the reporter around, and at one point, Paige blew a whistle directly into Hernandez’s ear before Christopher shoved her to the ground, the video showed.
DeYanna, an Iranian American, was caught yelling and shoving Hernandez after reacting she allegedly hit Paige in response, the now-viral clip showed.
Hernandez filed a lawsuit against the family on May 6 claiming that she ‘suffered a concussion, a strained muscle in her ankle and cervical spine,’ which has caused severe lower back and neck pain, the lawsuit reviewed by the Daily Mail detailed.
The scuffle also left the conservative activist’s prescription glasses broken and has caused her to endure nightmares and panic attacks, the legal filing read.
Christopher Ostroushko (far right), 51, and his daughter Paige Ostroushko, 20, pleaded guilty to criminal charges on Tuesday in relation to the altercation involving TPUSA reporter Savanah Hernandez
Paige blew a whistle directly into Hernandez’s ear before Christopher shoved her to the ground , video showed
James Cook, a lawyer representing Christopher in his state case, told the Daily Mail that both he and his wife have lost their jobs following the filmed confrontation, and that they have been brutally ‘doxxed’ online.
‘They’ve already suffered enough,’ Cook said, adding that he is confident that ‘it will be worked out in court.’
Trisha Pohland, an attorney who is also representing the family, told the Daily Mail that they have been instructed to refrain from interacting on social media in a bid to stay out of the online storm that has come as a result of the incident.
‘People are not getting the full story online,’ Pohland said, adding that they have all received a series of threats since the video hit the internet last month.
Jesse D. Franklin-Murdock, one of the attorneys representing Hernandez, told the Daily Mail: ‘We are committed to ensuring that the Ostroushkos face accountability for their attack on Savanah.
‘We look forward to Savanah’s day in court, and we are confident the jury will see the case the way the federal grand jury did when they returned indictments.’
The Daily Mail also contacted Hernandez for comment but did not immediately hear back.
On April 29, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the unsealing of a federal grand jury indictment charging the trio with assaulting a journalist who was ‘lawfully’ reporting on federal property.
Hernandez filed a lawsuit against the family on May 6 claiming that she ‘suffered a concussion, a strained muscle in her ankle and cervical spine’ from the incidnet
DeYanna Ostroushko, Christopher’s wife and Paige’s mother, also pleading not guilty as she was also charged in connection to the confrontation outside the Whipple Federal Building on April 11
‘Hernandez was allegedly surrounded, physically assaulted and shoved to the ground – simply because she was identified by the defendants as a conservative journalist,’ Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
‘That is NOT “peaceful protest,”‘ he added.
‘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.’
Christopher and Paige have been charged with interference with a federally protected activity and willfully and forcibly injuring and intimidating Hernandez. DeYanna has been charged with assault.
‘Political violence is a national scourge,’ US Attorney Daniel Rosen for the District of Minnesota said. ‘And federal law enforcement will not tolerate it.’
Christopher and his wife went on to appear on a small podcast episode, where they shared their account of what happened, which contradicted what the video showed.
‘We are absolutely not violent people. In fact, we tend to shy away from it,’ Chris said on a recent episode of Pushing the Limits.
Hernandez and Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA who was killed on September 10, 2025
Christopher and his wife went on to appear on a small podcast episode, where they shared their account of what happened, which contradicted what the video showed
‘In fact, that day, you’ll see I was not even up in the front at all during this whole event. I just stayed back and kind of watched what was going on.’
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Hernandez pushed back on Chris’s claim and said: ‘If I hit them first, it would be on camera.
‘There’s multiple angles of Paige walking up to me as I’m standing by myself. And also her mom is the first person who came up to start harassing me.’
Hernandez explained that she was shoved by DeYanna and Chris multiple times before the father ‘instructed his daughter on camera to go and “blow the whistle in my effing ear.”‘
