Antifa cell leader sentenced to 100 years for attack on Texas ICE facility

A Texas man described by prosecutors as the leader of an Antifa cell has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for the attack on an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, in which a police officer was shot in the neck. Seven other defendants were also sentenced to decades in prison.

Benjamin Hanil Song was convicted of attempted murder and other charges in the July 4, 2025, attack at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, about 25 miles south of Fort Worth.

Prosecutors said the defendants rioted, used weapons and explosives, provided material support to terrorists and tried to cover up evidence.

The eight defendants sentenced Tuesday received a combined 450 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years in prison, while Cameron Arnold, Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris and Elizabeth Soto were each sentenced to 50 years. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years.

The sentences came after a 12-day trial in February in which jurors heard testimony from 46 witnesses and reviewed more than 210 exhibits. Nine defendants were convicted, but Ines Soto was granted a continuance and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1.

Prosecutors said the defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa cell that was part of a larger militant enterprise opposed to the U.S. government, law enforcement and immigration enforcement. An expert who testified for the government said Antifa networks had increasingly targeted facilities and agents tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

According to trial evidence, Song acquired firearms, distributed them to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges, combat training sessions and ideologically aligned groups. Prosecutors said the cell acquired more than 50 firearms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area before the attack.

Late on July 4, at least 11 defendants went to the Prairieland facility dressed in black clothing with head and face coverings, a tactic prosecutors described as “black bloc” intended to conceal their identities and make them harder to distinguish from one another.

The group brought 11 firearms, body armor and military-grade first aid kits with tourniquets and other items to treat gunshot wounds, according to evidence presented at trial. Prosecutors said some defendants also turned off their phones or placed them in Faraday bags to avoid tracking.

After arriving at the detention facility, members of the group threw fireworks and explosives at the property and vandalized vehicles and a guard shack, prosecutors said. An Alvarado police officer responded after correctional officers called 911.

When the officer began issuing commands to one of the defendants, Song was heard on police body camera video yelling, “Get to the rifles!” before opening fire, striking the officer in the neck as unarmed correctional officers ran for cover, according to prosecutors.

Most of the defendants were arrested shortly after the attack, many of them near the scene. Song escaped and remained at large until July 15, 2025, when he was captured with the help of others.

The trial also included encrypted chats in which members discussed reconnaissance, firearms, medical kits and fireworks, according to prosecutors.

One cooperating defendant testified that during a “gear check” the night before the attack, Song proposed freeing detainees from the facility and told the group to wear black clothing and bring rifles because he was not going to be arrested.

Prosecutors said some of the defendants had attended a peaceful daytime protest at the facility earlier on July 4 and later reported details about security at the site to others.

The convictions included riot-related offenses, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, use of an explosive during a riot and attempted murder. Song was also convicted of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Sanchez-Estrada was convicted of concealing Antifa-related materials, including planning documents, anti-law enforcement material and other propaganda, by moving a box from his residence to Denton, Texas. He and Rueda were also convicted of conspiring to conceal documents and other objects tied to the riot and shooting.

Seven other defendants, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp and John Thomas, pleaded guilty before trial to providing material support to terrorists and are scheduled to be sentenced on July 1. Each faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

The case marks the first sentencing of defendants affiliated with Antifa since President Trump signed an executive order in September 2025 designating the group as a domestic terrorist organization, according to prosecutors.