7 sentenced in Texas detention center attack that wounded officer

Seven members of a North Texas Antifa cell were sentenced to prison for their roles in a 2025 attack on a Texas detention center that left a police officer wounded, according to federal prosecutors.

The sentences, handed down Wednesday in federal court, range from 22 months to 50 years in prison and total more than 106 years combined, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

The longest sentence went to Ines Soto, who prosecutors described as the head of ANTIFA DFW, which operated under the name Emma Goldman Book Club. Soto was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Joy Gibson and Rebecca Morgan were each sentenced to 15 years in prison. Lynette Sharp and John Thomas were each sentenced to 110 months, Seth Sikes was sentenced to six years, and Nathan Baumann was sentenced to nearly two years.

The attack happened late on July 4, 2025, at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, about 25 miles south of Fort Worth. Prosecutors said the facility was being used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to hold migrants awaiting deportation.

According to evidence presented at trial, members of the group arrived at the facility dressed in black clothing and face coverings, brought firearms, body armor, first aid kits and fireworks, and began vandalizing the property.

Prosecutors said vehicles and a guard shack were damaged, and fireworks were shot and thrown at the facility.

An Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck after responding to the scene. Prosecutors said Benjamin Hanil Song, described as the group’s ringleader, opened fire after yelling for others to get to rifles. Song escaped after the attack and was arrested on July 15, 2025.

Song was sentenced last week to 100 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors said the defendants were convicted or pleaded guilty to offenses tied to rioting, weapons and explosives, material support to terrorists, obstruction and the attempted murder of the officer. Testimony in the case came from 46 witnesses during a 12-day trial that began in February.

Prosecutors said the group had acquired more than 50 firearms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area before the attack and used encrypted chats to plan and coordinate. Some defendants had attended a peaceful daytime protest at the same facility before returning at night with weapons and other gear, according to trial evidence.

Federal prosecutors said 15 people connected to the Prairieland attack have now received combined sentences of more than 556 years in prison.

One remaining defendant, Susan Kent, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 6.