Eight members of far-left terrorist group Antifa have been jailed for a combined 450 years over a gun and bomb attack on an immigration detention centre in Texas.
The North Texas Antifa Cell operatives, two of whom claim to be “transgender”, were sentenced on Tuesday to between 30 and 100 years’ imprisonment over the July 4, 2025, assault on the Prairieland ICE Detention Centre where a local police officer was shot in the neck.
Another member of the terror cell who was convicted alongside the group of eight at a trial earlier this year will be sentenced on July 1, the same day as seven others who pleaded guilty prior to trial to providing material support to terrorists.
All nine Antifa operatives who went to trial were convicted of providing material support to terrorists and rioting, eight were charged with conspiracy to use/carry explosives, and using/carrying explosives.
Ringleader Benjamin Song, a former Marine Corps Reservist, was additionally convicted of attempted murder of a peace officer, and was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
Maricela Rueda got 70 years, Cameron Arnold (who calls himself Autumn Hill), Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris (who calls himself Meghan Morris) and Elizabeth Soto got 50 years, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years.
Leader of ANTIFA Cell Members in North Texas SENTENCED TO 100 YEARS IN PRISON for Terrorist Attack on ICE Facility: Seven additional defendants also sentenced before one-year anniversary of attack to a combined 450 years in prison
This is the first sentencing of defendants… pic.twitter.com/euFyrANpQW
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 23, 2026
Those set to be sentenced on July 1 are Ines Soto, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp and John Thomas.
After the failed attack on the Prarieland facility, where explosives and rifles were used, the attackers fled the scene and were arrested in the following days, but Song evaded capture for a month with the assistance of other far-left extremists.
He was eventually brought to justice after a manhunt which resulted in Morgan and Kent being charged with aiding the evasion of capture. Both became cooperating witnesses against Song.
The other eight terrorists were found living a squalid “transgender” commune in Dallas.
The police officer who was shot by Song survived and gave testimony at the trial, contributing to the convictions.
After the nine terrorists were convicted in March, far-left extremists in the court broke into tears and started screaming, leading to two being ejected from the gallery.
Threats were then made by Antifa-branded and affiliated online accounts against members of the jury, as well as against the the family of District Judge Mark Pittman who delivered the verdict.
Tuesday’s sentencing of Antifa terrorists was the first since President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating the group as a Domestic Terrorist Organization in September 2025.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in response to the sentences that the Department of Justice would continue to prosecute members of the group.
“The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice,” said.
US Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas said the Antifa members had been “justly punished” for what was a “vicious armed attack”.
“Their terrorist acts, attempted murder, vandalism, and explosives launched at a detention facility were a far cry from a peaceful protest or First Amendment expression,” he said.
“Because of the prompt action of first responders that night and tenacious work of our law enforcement partners, in tandem with the prosecutors in my office, eight people have been rightly punished for these violent acts and their attempts to conceal them.”
The Justice Department said testimony and other evidence from the trial established that the North Texas Antifa Cell members were part of a “larger militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to an ideology that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law”.
“An expert testifying in the government’s case told the jury that Antifa’s coordinated efforts involve obstructing Federal law through organised riots, violent assaults, and armed confrontations with law enforcement officers, increasingly targeting agents and facilities related to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in opposition to the agency’s deportation actions,” the department said.
Header image: Clockwise from top left – Benjamin Song, Cameron Arnold, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Zachary Evetts, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, Savanna Batten (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office).
