A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced nine activists convicted of terrorism-related charges to prison terms ranging from 30 to 100 years. The sentencing concludes a closely watched federal case arising from an anti-ICE demonstration in North Texas.
The defendants were convicted in March following a three-week jury trial. The charges originated from a July 4 protest at an immigrant detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. According to court records, the group arrived late at night to conduct a noise demonstration using fireworks.
During the event, several individuals vandalized facility property, including vehicles, a guard shack, and a security camera. When a police officer responded to the scene and drew his weapon, protester Benjamin Song fired an AR-15 rifle from a wooded area, striking the officer in the shoulder. The officer survived the injury.
Song, who admitted to firing the weapon, received a 100-year prison sentence. He was convicted of attempted murder of a U.S. officer, firearms and explosives offenses, rioting, and providing material support to terrorists.
Five other defendants—Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Savanna Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Meagan Morris—were sentenced to 50 years in prison. Another demonstrator, Maricela Rueda, received a 70-year sentence.
All six were convicted of rioting, explosives charges, and providing material support to terrorists, though they were acquitted of the attempted murder and firearms counts. Rueda was also convicted of corruptly concealing a document or record.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that the defendants operated as a premeditated “North Texas antifa cell.” They presented encrypted messages showing that some participants planned the demonstration, coordinated clothing to avoid identification, and discussed bringing firearms.
The level of involvement varied among the defendants. Evidence indicated that Batten and Elizabeth Soto did not participate in the planning and left the premises when they were requested to do so by the guards. Morris remained in a carpool van containing weapons and body armor during the protest and was arrested later that night following a traffic stop.
The ninth defendant, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada, was not present at the protest but was sentenced to 30 years in prison for corruptly concealing a document or record. Prosecutors stated he moved left-wing literature at the request of Rueda, his wife, following her arrest.
The material support charge used by the prosecution does not require proof of affiliation with a specific terrorist organization, only that a defendant aided one of several designated offenses. The Justice Department described the convictions as evidence of organized antifa terrorism.
Defense attorneys countered that the defendants were a loosely affiliated group connected through a local book club and gun group, noting that all weapons involved were legally purchased. Legal observers questioned the use of the book club’s reading materials as evidence, arguing it raised free speech concerns.
The Texas case reflects an ongoing federal focus on anti-ICE demonstrations. Earlier this month, 15 activists faced conspiracy charges in Minneapolis for allegedly interfering with ICE operations. In Spokane, Washington, three protesters were convicted of conspiracy following a 2025 demonstration, while a similar federal case in Chicago recently ended due to grand jury misconduct.
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