Benjamin Hanil Song Sentenced to 100 Years for Antifa Attack on Prairieland Detention Center

On July 4, 2025, eight North Texas Antifa Cell operatives were sentenced in connection with a terrorist attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, after a 12-day trial that began on Feb. 23, 2025.

“Related Content Press Release Today, the Justice Department announced that eight North Texas Antifa Cell operatives were sentenced for their roles in rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and the attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center on July 4, 2025”

Department of Justice (.gov)

The U.S. Department of Justice said Benjamin Hanil Song was convicted of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and received a 100 years in prison sentence, while the Prairieland terrorists received a combined sentence of 450 years in prison.

Department of Justice (.gov)

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, "The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice," and FBI Director Kash Patel said, "Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated."

The Guardian described the same Fourth of July protest at the immigrant detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, where an activist fired an AR-15 from the woods, hitting a police officer in the shoulder, and said Song was sentenced to 100 years in prison.

In the DOJ account, jurors heard testimony from 46 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits supporting charges against nine indicted defendants, including Cameron Arnold, also known as Autumn Hill, and Zachary Evetts.

The Guardian quoted former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade saying, "Most often, judges will sentence defendants for separate counts concurrently," and argued that the case appeared to have stacked sentences consecutively rather than concurrently.

In a statement reported by The Guardian, Song said he fired at the police officer, Lt Thomas Gross, because Gross had his weapon drawn and Song believed he was about to shoot a protester, adding, "I never want to see good people, standing for what they believe in, gunned down in the street."

The Guardian

The Intercept described Daniel Sanchez Estrada’s sentencing as a 30-year term for obstructing an investigation by moving a box full of antifascist zines, and quoted defense attorney Christopher Weinbel telling U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, "The punishment must fit the crimes — not the headlines, not the politics, not the fears that have been mongered about the case."

The Intercept also quoted Autumn Hill telling the court Tuesday, "We didn’t expect or want any violence or destruction of property to occur," while prosecutors emphasized that defendants arrived with guns and fireworks.

In the DOJ press release, Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella said, "Nearly one year after this cowardly act, justice has prevailed," framing the attack as an assault on law enforcement and the rule of law.

The Intercept said the Prairieland case capped a set of sentences that were longer than those received by members of the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, and it described the defendants’ relatives and supporters as placing hopes on appeals.

“FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Daniel Sanchez Estrada wasn’t accused of attempted murder or material support of terrorism after a protest turned catastrophically wrong outside an ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas”

The Intercept

It also reported that Ines Soto was awaiting a July sentencing, while the DOJ said Ines Soto was granted a continuance and will be sentenced on July 1.

The DOJ said the sentences followed a 12-day trial beginning on Feb. 23, where jurors heard testimony from 46 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits, and it described the defendants as members of a North Texas Antifa Cell tied to a larger militant enterprise.

The Intercept placed the Prairieland case in the context of a broader crackdown on anti-government protesters, saying the protest that triggered the case came months before the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and prompted President Donald J. Trump to issue an executive order designating antifa as a domestic terrorism group.

In the DOJ account, the Justice Department said it was the first sentencing of defendants affiliated with Antifa following President Donald J. Trump’s executive order designating the group as a Domestic Terrorist Organization in September 2025, and it said the Department would continue to "aggressively investigate, disrupt, and prosecute" those who threaten law enforcement officers or undermine the rule of law.