2025 Prairieland ICE detention center incident
Civil disturbance in Alvarado, Texas, US
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On the evening of July 4, 2025, a civil disturbance and shooting occurred at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, United States, during a protest against the campaign of mass deportation carried out during the second presidency of Donald Trump. The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas said that eleven individuals set off fireworks and vandalized parked vehicles and a guard structure outside the center. ICE officers called local police; when they arrived, Benjamin Hanil Song of Dallas shot an Alvarado police officer in the neck.[1] The officer was airlifted to a hospital and released after receiving treatment.[2][3][4] Eleven individuals were arrested within a day; within a month, Song was arrested after a manhunt, and five others were also arrested.[4] Defendants and their supporters said they were attending a peaceful "noise demonstration" protest and denied planning violence.[5][6]
ca 10:37–11:05 pm CDT (UTC−05:00)
32.4212°N 97.1955°W
| 2025 Prairieland ICE detention center incident | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Protests against mass deportation during the second Trump administration | |||
Images from a criminal complaint a car and a guard hut vandalized by protestors | |||
| Date | July 4, 2025 ca 10:37–11:05 pm CDT (UTC−05:00) | ||
| Location | Alvarado, Texas, United States 32.4212°N 97.1955°W | ||
| Caused by | Opposition to ICE | ||
| Methods | Protest, vandalism, shooting | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Injuries | 1 (Alvarado police officer) | ||
| Arrested |
| ||
| Convictions | See section | ||
On October 16, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed terrorism charges against two suspects, and in a social media post, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi said the two men were part of antifa, a decentralized leftist movement whose name comes from its anti-fascist political alignment; Bondi characterized it as a "left-wing terrorist organization".[7] Major media organizations said this is the first time the DOJ has charged anyone with terrorism in connection with alleged antifa activities,[2][7][8] mirroring statements made by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel.[9] In late 2025 and early 2026, five more people allegedly associated to the event were arraigned on state charges, bringing the number of accused to 22.[4][10][11]
In November 2025, seven defendants pled guilty to federal charges of providing material support for terrorism or damaging property.[12][13] In February 2026, the trial of nine defendants began, but U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman declared a mistrial.[14][15][16] A new trial commenced days later, and in March, all nine were convicted.[17][18] In June, seven were given federal prison sentences between 30 and 70 years, and Song was sentenced to 100 years—the maximum sentences allowable under federal sentencing guidelines.[19] The Intercept described the two Republican-appointed judges as choosing "to make an example of the defendants", while The New York Times pointed out that the sentences were "significantly longer than the lengthiest sentence handed down... [for] joining in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021."[20][21] Nine others were sentenced in early July, five of whom received reduced sentences for helping law enforcement or prosecutors.[22][23][24]
The protesters and their supporters dispute their alleged ties to antifa. Commentators have criticized the government for arresting and charging suspects for transporting antifascist zines[25] or wearing black bloc clothing, arguing that that it could have a chilling effect by creating a precedent for prosecuting activists exercising their free speech rights who are associated with activities the government declares to be terrorism.[2][6][26]
Sequence of events
Law enforcement statements and court filings state that, prior to the incident, several defendants participated in a Signal chat named "4th of July Party!" and decided to bring fireworks, firearms, and medical kits. Two of the participants conducted reconnaissance of the detention center shortly afterwards and forwarded information about security measures and the location of the nearest police station. The group later met at the house of two protesters, where prosecutors allege that they planned violence; the protesters contend that they met to make carpooling arrangements.[27]
On July 4, eleven people[2][28] gathered near the Prairieland Detention Center at 10:37 pm,[29] several dressed in black "military-style"[30] or black bloc clothing with their faces covered.[2][28] Someone removed a wagon filled with fireworks from a vehicle and pushed it towards the detention center.[27] Law enforcement officials said the protesters conducted a "diversion" to draw ICE officers out into the open; fireworks were set off, the group split up into several smaller groups, and a participant spray-painted vehicles and a guard structure with slogans including "Ice pig" and "traitor".[3] One small group remained near the facility entrance, apparently keeping watch.[28] The ICE officers called 911 to report the incident to local law enforcement.[30][29]
Two ICE officers emerged from the compound at 10:58 pm; according to law enforcement officials at a July press conference, the ICE officers were unarmed.[29][31] Alvarado police arrived at 10:59 pm, and a protester in a green mask north of the nearby street intersection seemed to signal to the others using a flashlight.[29][27] Prosecutors showed body camera footage from the Alvarado officer at a preliminary hearing in September and said that someone can be heard saying "get to the rifles" before an Alvarado police lieutenant ordered the protesters to stop and get on the ground.[2][4] Immediately afterwards, the person in the green mask fired shots from a nearby wooded area.[3][4] Two federal officers ran for cover. One of the shots entered the front of the police lieutenant's neck above his collarbone, injured his trapezius, and exited from his upper back. He fired three shots at the gunman. After telling another officer which way the protesters went, he was driven to a nearby parking lot and airlifted to a hospital, and was released less than 24 hours later. Initial court filings are inconsistent about the number of shooters and shots fired, saying that one or more shooters fired up to 30 shots, but later filings say that "updated information" indicated that a single shooter fired 11 shots before their gun jammed.[2][27][28] According to prosecutors, the gunman in the green mask fired first.[4] An FBI official at the September hearing said he was not certain who fired first.[2][28] According to Mark Pittman, one of the judges at trial, the gunfire ended when Song's rifle was struck by a "miracle bullet" fired by the lieutenant.[22][23]
Law enforcement recovered "AR-15 style" rifles, 12 sets of body armor, two-way radios, spray paint masks, and flyers with slogans ("Fight ICE terror with class war", "Free all political prisoners").[3][30] Savannah Batten, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Maricela Rueda, Seth Sikes, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto were arrested at a nearby intersection, while Zachary Evetts was arrested several hours later fleeing on foot in Venus, Texas, about 3 miles (4.8 km) away.[3] A van seen leaving the scene was pulled over by a Johnson County detective,[27] and the driver, Meagan Morris,[a] admitted to transporting people to the detention center to "make some noise". Two AR-15 style rifles, two ballistic vests, a handgun, and a ballistic helmet were found in the van; Morris was arrested and jailed.[3] Morris told the KERA (FM) radio station that she had been parked 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) from the detention center and that she never exited the vehicle during the incident.[2] One suspect was found with at least two cellphones inside a Faraday bag.[30][28] A flag saying "Resist Fascism. Fight Oligarchy" was recovered.[31] A total of eleven guns were recovered; several were found in suspects' cars, disassembled in their backpacks, or left in the wagon by the detention center entrance. All of the guns found by law enforcement were legally owned by the suspects.[2][28]
Investigation and subsequent arrests
Two persons convicted for direct involvement in the protest evaded the initial pursuit. Autumn Hill[b] was arrested the next day when police served a search warrant at Morris's home in Oak Cliff.[3][27] Benjamin Hanil Song, a 32-year-old male former US Marine Corps reservist, was arrested by federal authorities on July 15 after a manhunt.[32] Authorities identified the Song as a shooter, and said he purchased one AR-15 style rifle found where the shots were fired. They said that the rifle had a binary trigger to allow rapid fire, which they described as a probable modification done after purchase.[32][33] He purchased four of the guns recovered in the investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.[3][34]
According to chat logs, on July 5, Song changed his username on the online chats to "DELETE" to indicate he wanted to be removed; Thomas, the chat administrator, did so.[27] Joy Gibson and John Phillip Thomas, who were identified as Song's roommates, were arrested for helping him evade capture; Rebecca Morgan was also arrested for hindering the prosecution of terrorism.[12][29][35] According to court records, Song evaded arrest immediately after the incident by hiding in a sunflower field several hundred yards from the detention center, where cell phone records indicate that his phone was stationary for almost 24 hours. On July 6, he sent Lynette Sharp a satellite view of what prosecutors said was a suggested pickup spot in Alvarado, after which his cell phone signals ceased permanently. Chat logs indicate that Sharp, Susan Kent and a third woman rented two rooms at a Cleburne hotel to plan how to help him escape, and then contacted Thomas; evidence indicates Thomas met Song and accompanied him to a Walmart store to buy new clothing before a planned meeting to hand off Song to Morgan. Police subsequently served a warrant on Thomas's home in Dallas; police said that Thomas initially denied knowing Song, but later admitted they formerly lived together.[27]
Rueda called her mother from jail and asked her to contact Daniel "Dario" Sanchez Estrada,[c] who had not been arrested; Sanchez then responded to Rueda, who asked him to "move whatever you need to from the house" and tow her car from Morris's house. FBI agents monitored Sanchez as he arrived at his Garland house, removed several packages, and dropped off a box at a Denton apartment. Federal agents subsequently raided the apartment, discovering anti-government and anarchist documents, largely pamphlets and zines, in what appeared to be the box seen earlier.[3] On July 7,[34] Sanchez was arrested in Denton and charged with tampering with evidence and conspiring to tamper with evidence. He was married to one of the shooting incident suspects, ICE said.[3] The renter of the apartment was not arrested or charged.[27]
Sanchez, a Dallas teacher, was released on bond but was subsequently arrested two more times, once for deleting messages from the Signal and Discord messaging apps, and again for what officials describe as an attempt to modify a Nintendo Game Boy as a remote triggering device for explosives.[36][37] Sanchez said that after his initial arrest, an FBI agent offered him a deal to avoid jail time if he allowed the FBI to impersonate him online, which he interpreted as "[the FBI] angling to try and scoop up other people for no good reason"; after telling the FBI that he would not cooperate until he was allowed to talk to an attorney, he says he was placed in solitary confinement for 30 days. Sanchez was ultimately released on bond; in an interview for a January 2026 story in The New Republic, he was wearing an ankle monitor, and said he had severely curtailed his online activity to avoid inadvertently viewing "violent" online content that could be interpreted as a violation of his bond agreement.[28]
Prosecutors produced group chat logs showing that the participants had debated at length whether they should bring guns. Song wrote that "Cops are not trained or equipped for more than one rifle, so it tends to make them back off."[2][28] Other chat participants argued that a noise demonstration was low risk and the assumptions about how police would respond were "way over the top".[33]
On September 22, Batten, Gibson, Morgan, Rueda, Sharp and Elizabeth Soto were arraigned at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth on charges related to the incident.[34] Supporters of the women dispute conspiracy claims and said the women believed they were attending a peaceful protest.[30] The following day, Baumann, Evetts, Hill, Morris, Sikes, Ines Soto, Thomas and Song were arraigned at the Fort Worth court on charges relating to the incident. Sikes was ordered held in jail as a flight risk, but the others were released pending a preliminary detention hearing scheduled for September 30.[35]
On October 21, the third woman who allegedly helped Sharp and Kent with the hotel room was arrested on a state charge of aiding in the commission of terrorism, bringing the total number of defendants to eighteen.[4]
On January 8, 2026, a nineteenth person was arrested in connection with the incident. She faces two counts of hindering prosecution of terrorism.[10][38] Court documents reviewed by KERA the following week allege that she sent messages asking others to delete "digital evidence" and to remove the names of defendants from Signal chats.[38]
In May 2026, three more people were arraigned by a Johnson County grand jury on state charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and hindering the prosecution of terrorism, both first-degree felonies. The arraignments brought the total number of people accused in the case to 22. The trio is alleged to have helped Song evade arrest, but court documents did not make their roles clear. Their case was scheduled to go to trial later in 2026.[11]
Affiliations and ideology
Some defendants have backgrounds in protest activism. Three had prior protest-related arrests but no convictions. One was arrested for criminal trespass for sitting on the ground blocking a bank's door at an "Occupy Dallas" protest in 2011 as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement (the case was dismissed) and for blocking a highway as part of an anti-ICE protest in 2018 (the charge was dropped). Ines Soto had been arrested and charged with evading arrest in 2016 at Texas A&M University while protesting a speech there by Richard B. Spencer, a white supremacist. Song was initially named but later dropped from a 2023 lawsuit by the New Columbia Movement, a Christian nationalist organization, alleging that he and other members of the Elm Fork chapter of the John Brown Gun Club (JBGC) unlawfully intimidated New Columbia members who were protesting a drag show where the JBGC was providing security.[3] Sanchez and Thomas were members of the Socialist Rifle Association.[2]
A "planning document for civil unrest" recovered from the Denton apartment conveyed anti-law enforcement and anti-government sentiments.[3]
Batten, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto ran a local organization called the "Emma Goldman Book Club" and maintained its account on Twitter.[39][40] The Sotos also maintained a separate Twitter (later X) account for "DFW Antifa".[40] Federal prosecutors alleged that the book club was a front organization for antifa, and presented a video of a violent leftist protest that the organization posted online as evidence of antifa affiliation at trial.[39][40]
Federal trials
On November 19, 2025, Baumann, Gibson, Sharp, Sikes and Thomas each entered a guilty plea to one count of providing material support for terrorism in federal court in Fort Worth.[41] An attorney for Baumann said his client was only pleading guilty to damaging property. Prosecutors alleged that the defendants were members of the so-called "North Texas Antifa Cell", but attorneys for the defendants denied that such an organization ever existed, pointing to a lack of evidence presented by the government.[12] Baumann and Gibson said that Song's role was to alert the other protesters if police arrived, and Sikes said that Song was armed only to intimidate law enforcement if necessary to allow the others to escape.[2]
On November 24, Kent and Morgan pleaded guilty to federal charges of providing material support for terrorism, admitting to having helped the alleged gunman evade capture. The women were part of the group that allegedly met at the Cleburne hotel. Kent also pleaded not guilty to state charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and hindering the prosecution of terrorism; her trial was expected to start in March 2026.[13]
On January 21, 2026, Judge Mark Pittman fined three defense attorneys $500 each for filing "frivolous" motions requesting more evidence from prosecutors.[42]
On February 17, Pittman declared a mistrial during voir dire in the Fort Worth trial of Batten, Evetts, Hill, Morris, Rueda, Sanchez, Song and Elizabeth and Ines Soto. The declaration was prompted by "civil rights messaging" on a T-shirt worn by a defense attorney under her blazer during jury selection.[14] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified the attorney and wrote that her shirt displayed pictures of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Shirley Chisholm, which the judge said risked biasing jurors.[15][16] The trial was subsequently rescheduled for February 23, 2026, with a new jury pool.[16] Pittman said the attorney will face a hearing regarding possible sanctions.[15] The New York Times later reported that Pittman halted the proceedings when the attorney asked the potential jurors a question about the legal right to protest and referenced the recent death of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.[33]
On February 23, jury selection was restarted at the Eldon B. Mahon United States Courthouse in Fort Worth with a new jury pool. Unlike the previous trial, the overflow courtroom was relocated to the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse in Dallas, and all spectators had to use the overflow courtroom.[43][33][44] As many as four of the defendants who previously pleaded guilty were expected to testify for the prosecution. In an unusual move, Pittman said he would question the potential jurors himself, rather than allowing the prosecutors and defense attorneys to do so. The defense moved to prohibit the prosecution from mentioning antifa, arguing that the term was prejudicial, but this was rejected by the judge. The charges do not require proving that the defendants were members of a designated terrorist organization.[33] As federal law requires jury selection to be open to the public, concerns were raised about several interruptions in the video feed to the Dallas overflow courtroom, where the spectators and some members of the defense team were watching the proceedings; the judge ordered the feed turned off in some instances but it appeared to randomly drop out at other times.[44]
On March 9, expert witness for the prosecution Kyle Shideler testified that he provided language that prosecutors used in the indictment of the Prairieland defendants. Shideler put himself forward as an expert on, radical Islam, "Black identity extremism" and antifa.[45] Under cross-examnation, he declared that his research was "open-sourced" and not subject to peer review or typical data analysis practices. Shideler made claims about the defendants' Signal chats despite testifying that he had no previous experience analyzing "antifa chat groups".[46] Shideler is the director of the Center for Security Policy, a right-wing think thank, as well as the author of "How to Dismantle Far-Left Extremist Networks: A Roadmap for the Trump Administration".[47][48]
On March 13, 2026, the nine defendants were convicted by a Texas jury of providing material support for terrorism, and Song was convicted of the attempted murder of a police officer.[49]
During the trial, prosecutors presented wearing all black clothing during the protest and using the app Signal as causes for a charge of material support to terrorism, saying that "Providing your body as camouflage for others to do the enumerated acts is providing support". Other acts deemed material support included operating a printing press distributing left wing magazines and retweeting "antifa" tweets.[50]
Federal sentencing
On June 23, 2026, federal judges Pittman and Reed O'Connor sentenced Batten, Evetts, Hill, Morris, Rueda, Sanchez, Song and Elizabeth Soto to the maximum possible incarceration periods in federal prison under United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines.[19][51] On July 1, O'Connor and Pittman sentenced seven of the remaining convicts; Gibson, Morgan, and Ines Soto received longer sentences, while Baumann, Sharp, Sikes and Thomas were given lesser sentences for providing helpful information to the prosecution or law enforcement.[22][23][40]
Baumann, who was the youngest defendant and testified at length for the prosecution, was given the most lenient sentence of 22 months. According to Pittman, Sikes was the first of the suspects to offer information that helped law enforcement locate Song; Sikes said he "loved his country" and "I wish I could have stopped this."[23]
Pittman said that Kent, who was sentenced after the others on July 6, had only peripheral involvement. Kent's defense attorney said that Kent became involved only after trying to find her then-boyfriend Sikes at the Johnson County jail on July 5, 2025; there she encountered several other defendants, who told her they were planning to help Song. The attorney said Kent helped with the effort primarily to support her friends, and never personally harbored Song as others did. Kent also received a reduced sentence for having testified in favor of the prosecution.[24]
The defendants who had been personally present at the Prairieland Detention Center were ordered by the court to "jointly and separately" pay $4,408.95 in restitution to the detention center.[40]
| Defendant | Disposition | Imposed Punishment |
|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Hanil Song[52] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
100 years in prison[19] |
| Maricela Rueda[53] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
70 years in prison[51] |
| Autumn Hill[54][b] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
50 years in prison[55] |
| Savanna Batten[53] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
50 years in prison[55] |
| Zachary Evetts[53] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
50 years in prison[55] |
| Meagan Morris[54][a] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
50 years in prison[55] |
| Ines Soto[53] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
50 years in prison[22] |
| Elizabeth Soto[53] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
50 years in prison[55] |
| Daniel Rolando (aka "Des"[56] or "Dario"[2]) Sanchez Estrada[c] |
Convicted of:[51]
|
30 years in prison[55] |
| Joy Gibson[53] |
Convicted of:[22]
|
15 years in prison[22] |
| Rebecca Morgan |
Convicted of:[22]
|
15 years in prison[22] |
| Lynette Read Sharp[57] |
Convicted of:[22]
|
9 years and 2 months in prison[22] |
| John Phillip Thomas[57] |
Convicted of:[22]
|
9 years and 2 months in prison[22] |
| Susan Kent |
Convicted of:[22]
|
6 years in prison[24] |
| Seth Sikes[53] |
Convicted of:[22]
|
6 years in prison[22] |
| Nathan Baumann |
Convicted of:[22]
|
1 year and 10 months in prison[22] |
Reactions
Lauren Fadiman reported in The Baffler on the unfavorable coverage of the protest in the media, writing:
The media has routinely alluded to the “Prairieland ICE shooting” as though someone died in the crossfire—but Gross, the supposed target of the demonstrators, sustained only minor injuries and was released from the hospital within just three or four hours. While two protesters had indeed vandalized vehicles and a guard structure with graffiti, the property damage they caused cost the Prairieland Detention Center less than $2,200 to repair.[58]
The Intercept reported that a Prairieland defendant was sentenced to 30 years in prison "for moving a box of antifascist zines".[25]
The New Yorker described the trial as an example of how the Trump administration has turned leftist activism into terrorism.[59]
Sam Russek with The New Republic writes that police body camera footage released by the prosecution is unclear, that it is difficult to tell who is shooting and how many shots are fired, and the provided footage ends moments after the police lieutenant is hit.[28]
Supporters of the arrested women dispute conspiracy claims and said the women believed they were attending a peaceful protest.[30] In statements to Truthout and KERA, two women arrested for alleged involvement in the initial incident said they believed they were attending a peaceful "noise demonstration", intended only to "show solidarity with the detainees" by setting off fireworks, and that they had no knowledge of any planned violence.[5][6]
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) released a statement characterizing the arrests as "unchecked state repression". Xavier de Janon, director of Mass Defense for the NLG, criticized the government for holding suspects "in limbo between state and federal jurisdiction" for extended periods, allegedly making it difficult for the suspects to obtain legal representation because the nature of the charges was unclear.[6] De Janon expressed concern that the case could set a precedent for leveling federal conspiracy charges against anyone who attends a protest that "becomes volatile", saying that "the state could just accuse you of anything and say you 'conspired' to do [it]."[28]
Writing for Truthout in October 2025, Andrew Lee points out that evidence against the defendants includes their possession of protest banners and anarchist literature, which is broadly considered lawful under the First Amendment, and their possession of guns, which is commonplace in Texas and is protected by state laws allowing constitutional carry.[6] In an October article for The Intercept, Natasha Lennard mirrors these concerns, pointing to a lack of evidence for a coordinated advance plan to shoot at government agents.[60]
In a November article for The Intercept, Seth Stern criticizes the government for "characterizing lawful activism and ideologies as terrorist conspiracies" and arresting the Denton apartment suspect for possessing anarchist literature and zines, which is generally considered protected by the First Amendment:[26]
At what point does a literary collection or newspaper subscription become prosecutorial evidence under the Trump administration's logic? Essentially, whenever it's convenient. The vagueness is a feature, not a bug. When people don't know which political materials might later be deemed evidence of criminality, the safest course is to avoid engaging with controversial ideas altogether.
Mike German, a former FBI agent and Brennan Center for Justice associate interviewed by The Texas Observer, compared the antifa allegations to the FBI's past use of anarchism allegations to label leftist protestors:[2]
While it wasn’t put in a presidential memorandum, and they didn’t use the word ‘antifa,’ the FBI has used the word ‘anarchist’ just as they [use] antifa: It was a word that encompassed every kind of leftist protest and actually described nothing.
In January 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation of the Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee in Houston, citing the Prairieland incident as justification, although none of the defendants are from the Houston area or have been tied to the Screwston organization. The organization sells antifa-themed merchandise, has worked to identify neo-Nazis in the Houston area, and has conducted fundraisers to support the Prairieland defendants.[2]