Federal Judges Sentenced Benjamin Song to 100 Years for Prairieland ICE Attack in Alvarado, Texas

Federal judges in Texas on Tuesday sentenced eight people tied to a North Texas “antifa cell” to prison terms ranging from 30 to 100 years for their roles in a July 4, 2025 attack outside the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas.

“A former United States Marine reservist and seven others were sentenced to decades in prison over a shooting last year that wounded a police officer during a demonstration at a Texas immigration detention centre”

Al Jazeera

Benjamin Song received a 100-year sentence after prosecutors said he opened fire during the demonstration, and Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years while Autumn Hill and Zachary Evetts were each sentenced to 50 years.

Al Jazeera

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas said sentencing for the defendants would happen Tuesday morning, and the verdicts had been handed down in March after weeks of testimony from investigators, law enforcement and cooperating witnesses.

Prosecutors said the group launched a premeditated terror attack on the detention facility inspired by antifa ideology, including setting off fireworks, vandalizing property, and shooting at police officers who responded.

CBS News reported that one officer was struck in the neck with a bullet and survived, and it said the sentencing came as the defendants were accused in the July 4 plot targeting the Prairieland ICE detention center.

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,” framing the punishment as a response to violence.

Alvarado Police Chief Teddy May welcomed the guilty verdicts and said he agreed with prosecutors that the defendants could not “have reasonably believed they were attending a peaceful protest.”

BBC

In contrast, Benjamin Song told the court he believed the officer was preparing to shoot another defendant, and Houston Public Media reported that Song called the idea that he intended an ambush the night of July 4 “impossible.”

The Guardian described Elizabeth Soto’s sentencing as “This is injustice,” and it quoted her saying, “They didn’t like my book club,” tying the case to leftist zines and a printing press.

The Washington Post said the sentences were as long as 100 years for roles in a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility that included vandalism and the shooting of a police officer.

The case drew attention beyond Texas, with critics warning it could have a wide-reaching impact on protests and free-speech rights under the First Amendment, according to Al Jazeera.

“Eight people who were found guilty of earlier this year for a 2025 in Alvarado, Texas, learned their punishments on Tuesday”

CBS News

Al Jazeera reported that the Justice Department called it the first sentencing of “defendants affiliated with” antifa after President Donald Trump designated antifa a “domestic terrorist organisation” on September 22.

Defense attorneys announced their intention to appeal, and Democracy Now! quoted Jason Hawkins saying, “We have no comment, other than we look forward to appealing both the conviction and sentence.”

Democracy Now! also said Daniel Sanchez Estrada received a 30-year prison term for conspiracy to conceal documents after he moved a box containing anti-fascist magazines and pamphlets, while it described Autumn Hill’s 50-year sentence as tied to rioting, providing material support to terrorists, and fireworks.

As the sentences took effect, families condemned the length of the punishment, and Al Jazeera quoted Lydia Koza saying, “The government wants to take her entire life away because she attended a protest. Nobody died.”