Federal Jury Begins Deliberations in Prairieland ICE Shooting Trial After Prosecutors Call Black Clothing Terrorism

A federal jury in Fort Worth began deliberations after a high-profile trial over a July 4 noise demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE detention center that ended with Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross wounded by gunfire.

“Wearing all black clothing and face masks”

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Prosecutors have framed the case as the first to target an “antifa cell,” charging nine people with a range of offenses including attempted murder and terrorism-related counts, while defense attorneys say the demonstration was a noise protest in support of detainees and that antifa is an ideology, not an organization.

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The trial has drawn attention as a possible bellwether for how the Trump administration will treat left-wing dissent, with experts and defense lawyers warning the outcome could shape future prosecutions.

Prosecutors told jurors that the defendants were not merely peaceful demonstrators but part of a coordinated affinity group whose tactics facilitated an ambush on law enforcement, relying on Signal chat messages, political materials, and surveillance to connect individuals to an operational plan.

The prosecution argued that Benjamin Song was the ringleader and that others — including Autumn Hill, Meagan Morris, Zachary Evetts and Maricela Rueda — should be held liable under Pinkerton principles because they could reasonably have foreseen Song’s actions.

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Prosecutors also presented material intended to establish an “antifa” operational culture, including black bloc clothing and radical pamphlets, to support terrorism-related counts.

Defense attorneys countered that the government overcharged the case and relied on constitutionally protected political materials to paint a conspiratorial picture, arguing jurors were being asked to 'put protesters in prison as terrorists.'

“Wearing all black clothing and face masks”

KERA News

Several defense lawyers emphasized First and Second Amendment arguments in closing, and some chose not to present additional witnesses or evidence, saying they trusted jurors to weigh the government’s case.

The defense also attacked the credibility of cooperating witnesses and highlighted that the accused had maintained the protest’s purpose was noise-making and support for those inside Prairieland, not a planned violent ambush.

Key evidentiary disputes highlighted how political expression and forensic facts were weighed together: prosecutors displayed zines, pamphlets and clothing seized in raids while defense attorneys noted some items, like a printing press seized from a defendant’s home, were never entered as evidence before jurors.

Ballistics and surveillance played a role in arguments about who fired the shot; defense counsel suggested the recovered bullet's tip was curved and evidence such as dust clouds and ricochet possibilities were consistent with a stray or ground-directed shot,

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while prosecutors argued the totality of physical and testimonial evidence supported attempted murder charges.

Observers and participants framed the trial's stakes beyond the immediate facts: prosecutors and some officials heralded novel terrorism charges as a necessary tool, while defense teams and civil liberties advocates warned the prosecution could set a precedent for criminalizing protest activity and political expression.

“Wearing all black clothing and face masks”

KERA News

Jurors' decision will be watched as a potential template for how law enforcement and federal prosecutors approach demonstrations and alleged affiliated networks in the future,

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a possibility underscored by commentary that the verdict 'could determine the playbook' for targeting alleged left-wing violence.