Islamophobic Think Tank Helped Prosectors Write Terror Indictment Against ICE Protesters

Kyle Shideler, a researcher at the Center for Security Policy, testified Monday that he provided language prosecutors used in the indictment for the first-ever domestic terrorism case against a purported "north Texas antifa cell."

“A researcher at a far-right think tank helped Justice Department prosecutors craft their indictment for terror charges against an alleged “north Texas antifa cell,” the researcher testified Monday”

The Intercept

The charges stem from a July 4 noise demonstration outside ICE’s Prairieland Detention Center where demonstrators used fireworks in solidarity with detainees held inside the Alvarado, Texas, facility.

The Intercept

During the demonstration one responding officer was shot in the neck.

Shideler said the decision to use his language was the government’s, stating, "I told them what I believed to be an accurate definition of antifa, and they used it."

Nine defendants on trial this month face years or life sentences for the demonstration, and the article does not specify who fired the shot that wounded the officer.

Courtroom testimony highlighted what the article called an 'extraordinarily close cooperation' between federal prosecutors and the Washington advocacy group.

Shideler, who authored a September article titled 'How to Dismantle Far-Left Extremist Networks: A Roadmap for the Trump Administration,' told the court he conferred with prosecutors in October, a month before they obtained the indictment.

The Intercept

Defense attorneys challenged Shideler's professional standing and the Center for Security Policy itself.

The nonprofit was founded by Frank Gaffney, whom the article says has 'routinely been described as an Islamophobic conspiracy theorist.'

The article also noted the group has been branded a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a label Shideler disputed in court.

Under questioning, Shideler traced a history of antifascist organizing from 1930s Germany to 1980s U.K. activism to present-day U.S. tactics, and testified that Signal chats, "black bloc" clothing and a general "security culture" used by the Prairieland demonstrators were consistent with antifa practices.

“A researcher at a far-right think tank helped Justice Department prosecutors craft their indictment for terror charges against an alleged “north Texas antifa cell,” the researcher testified Monday”

The Intercept

Prosecutors had him link anarchist zines recovered from defendants to their actions.

Defense lawyers pointed out that several cooperating defendants said they did not consider themselves antifa and attacked Shideler's methods.

He acknowledged he does not use academic social science methods, does not submit research for peer review, and relies mainly on open-source materials whose authenticity can be difficult to verify.

Shideler testified as an expert witness over the defense's objections after U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, a Donald Trump appointee, allowed him to do so.

His testimony is set to continue Tuesday.