Benjamin Song, the man who shot and wounded a police officer during the attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Texas on 4 July 2025, was on Tuesday sentenced to 100 years’ imprisonment.
At the same time, seven other defendants received prison sentences ranging from 30 to 70 years for their role in what the authorities describe as a coordinated attack carried out by an Antifa-affiliated cell.
Screenshot: CBS News Texas Instagram.
Federal Judge Mark Pittman imposed the harshest sentence on Song after he was found guilty of, among other offences, the attempted murder of Lieutenant Thomas Gross of the Alvarado Police Department.
Gross was shot and wounded outside the ICE detention centre during the attack.
Song, Hill, Evetts, Batten, Morris, Rueda, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto were convicted of rioting, providing material support to terrorists, and conspiracy to use explosives. Song was additionally convicted on three counts involving the use of a firearm.
Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years’ imprisonment. Autumn Hill, Zachary Evetts, Meagan Morris, Savanna Batten and Elizabeth Soto each received 50-year prison sentences, while Daniel Sanchez Estrada was sentenced to 30 years.
Screenshot: CBS News Texas Instagram.
The case has attracted considerable attention because it is regarded as the first federal terrorism case directed at individuals with links to Antifa after the Trump administration last year designated the ideology as a domestic terrorist threat.
Document wrote in October last year about the first terrorism charges brought against the perpetrators following the attack on Prairieland. At the time, FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the attack was a planned and coordinated act of terrorism against federal authorities.
USA reiser de første terroranklagene mot medlemmer av Antifa
Rejected the terrorism label
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Song attempted to distance himself from both terrorism and allegations that he was a member of Antifa. He told the court that he does not hate the police, President Donald Trump, or Nazis. He also claimed that he had not planned an ambush.
Song explained that he feared an instance of police brutality when he saw Lieutenant Gross step out of the vehicle with a weapon pointed at them. Judge Pittman rejected the explanation and said that Song had not accepted responsibility for his actions and showed no remorse.
– If we live in a time where we use tyre spikes against a police officer attempting to stop a riot, we are at a really, really bad point in our history, Pittman said in court.
Trump administration signals more cases
A further seven individuals have previously pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists and are still awaiting sentencing. They face up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
All of the perpetrators are shown here in a news report from Fox 4 News in Dallas following the attack.
The sentencing follows a three-week trial in which prosecutors argued that the group was part of a larger Antifa cell with anti-ICE and anti-state views.
Federal authorities have described the case as an important watershed in the fight against politically motivated violence from the far left.
Earlier this month, the White House stated that several ongoing investigations around the country are targeting individuals connected to Antifa environments.
– Antifa terrorists and their networks will be investigated, disrupted, prosecuted and neutralised with the full force of federal law, the White House stated in a press release.
The defendants and their supporters, for their part, maintain that they are being subjected to political persecution because of their political views.
Compared to 6 January
Several left-leaning media outlets have focused on the severe sentences. Among them is The Guardian, which cites experts who have reacted to the lengthy prison terms. The outlet also draws parallels with the 6 January cases.
Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of seditious conspiracy, the newspaper writes. Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment.
Penalties for terrorism-related offences in the United States are extremely severe, ranging from a few years to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and in the most serious cases the death penalty may be imposed.
Ti personer tiltalt for organisert angrep på ICE-agenter og politi i Texas