FORT WORTH, Texas — Federal judges sentenced eight members of a North Texas Antifa cell to a combined 450 years in prison Tuesday, June 23, for their roles in a violent July 4, 2025, attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Alvarado.
“The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their violent extremism has no place in our country, and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt, and prosecute those who threaten law enforcement officers or undermine the rule of law.”
U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman and Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor imposed the sentences following convictions in a March federal trial. Benjamin Hanil Song, identified by prosecutors as the cell’s leader and a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, received 100 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder for shooting Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross in the neck as the officer responded to the scene. Gross survived the injury.
“Today’s sentencings show the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and dismantling Antifa and its funding networks across the country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated, and we continue our work to protect communities across the country from domestic terrorism.”
Evidence at trial revealed that most of the ANTIFA Cell involved in the Prairieland attack looked to Benjamin Song as a leader. Song acquired firearms that he distributed to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions he conducted, as well as from various ideologically aligned groups. For example, defendants Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Savanna Batten were part of a group that created and distributed insurrectionary materials called “zines,” according to trial evidence.
The other defendants received sentences ranging from 30 to 70 years on charges that included rioting, using and carrying explosives, providing material support to terrorists and obstruction. The names of the convicted criminals and their terms, as announced by the Justice Department, are:
- Benjamin Hanil Song: 100 years
- Maricela Rueda: 70 years
- Cameron Arnold: 50 years
- Savanna Batten: 50 years
- Zachary Evetts: 50 years
- Bradford Morris: 50 years
- Elizabeth Soto: 50 years
- Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada: 30 years
Ines Soto, also convicted, is scheduled for sentencing July 1. Seven other individuals earlier pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists and face sentencing on the same date: Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas.
The sentences follow a 12-day trial that began on Feb. 23, where jurors heard testimony from 46 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits supporting the charges against nine the indicted defendants.
According to the DOJ, the group dressed in black bloc attire with face coverings and arrived late at night at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center, which housed individuals awaiting deportation. They threw fireworks and explosives at the facility, vandalized vehicles and a guard shack, sprayed graffiti and destroyed a surveillance camera.
Unarmed correctional officers took cover, then called 911. When Lt. Gross arrived and began issuing commands, Song opened fire, striking him. Prosecutors said Song had acquired and distributed firearms and recruited members through gun ranges and combat training aligned with the group’s activities.
The Antifa cell brought 11 firearms, body armor and military-grade first aid kits to the scene, and evidence including DNA, fingerprints and phone location data linked them to the attack. Many had turned off their phones or placed them in Faraday bags to avoid tracking.
Trial evidence demonstrated that collectively, this ANTIFA Cell acquired over 50 firearms in the Fort Worth/Dallas area prior to July 4. During trial, the government introduced numerous chats of the members, who used an encrypted messaging app to coordinate with each other that had auto-delete functions, permanently deleting some Antifa Cell members’ communications. They also used monikers in group chats to hide their identities, and some of the planning chats included only trusted participants. The chats introduced at trial revealed that members in this limited group conducted reconnaissance and discussed what to bring to the riot, including firearms, medical kits, and fireworks:
The case is the first major sentencing of defendants affiliated with Antifa since President Donald J Trump issued executive order, “Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization,” in September 2025. Prosecutors presented evidence linking the defendants to an ideology that calls for the overthrow of the U.S. government, law enforcement and immigration enforcement, and described coordinated efforts that harmed officers.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Dallas Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations Dallas, ATF, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Alvarado Police Department, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Office (ICE ERO).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Gatto, Shawn Smith, and Matt Capoccia for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
Author: Mario Lotmore
