8 in Texas convicted of terrorism-related charges
Case stems from July [2025] attack on ICE facility
By: Jasper Ward
Reuters
WASHINGTON - a jury convicted nine people on March 13 [2026] for their involvement in a July [2025] shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement detention center in Texas, the Justice Department said.
.....
Eight of the nine defendants were found guilty of providing material support to terrorists, rioting conspiring to use and carry explosives, and using explosives during a riot, local media reported. The conviction followed a 12-day trial in Texas.
..... The defendants were charged for their roles in a nonfatal shooting of a police officer at the immigration facility on July 4 [2025] in Alvarado, Texas.
..... The defendants, who authorities said were dressed in black "military-style" clothing with head and face coverings when they carried out the attack on the facility, have been described by the Trump administration as members of the antifa movement, which was designed a domestic terrorist organizations by President Donald Trump in 2025.
..... The case was the first time federal prosecutors filed terrorism charges targeting antifa, a largely unstructured, far-left movement whose followers broadly aim to confront those they view as authoritarian or racist.
..... Following the conviction, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said this will not be the last case of its kind under the Trump administration.
..... Todd M. Lyons, acting ICE director, welcomed the conviction, saying the summer attack by the defendants was violent in nature and "an abhorrent way for antifa terrorists to "protest."
..... The defendants are Cameron Arnold, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabth Soto, Ines Soto and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada.
..... Lawyers for eight of the nine defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
..... "We are thankful that the jury could see through the Government;s fear mongering antifa "ambush' narrative," said Cody Cofer, a lawyer for Arnold, the lead defendant in the case.
..... "We are afraid that our client's guilty verdicts for Riot and related charges resulted form a compromise during deliberations or failure to consider our client;s individual conduct."
..... Cofer expressed an intent to appeal.