Texas Jury Crushes Antifa ICE Facility Ambush with 9 Guilty Verdicts
A federal jury in Texas has returned a guilty verdict against all nine defendants charged in the July 2025 attack on the Prairieland ICE detention center near Alvarado, Texas. The verdict was read Friday against Benjamin Hanil Song, the accused Antifa organizer behind the attack, and eight associates who now await sentencing for their roles in the attack.
The jury returned its verdict at the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth, finding Song, the alleged leader of the Antifa cell, guilty of attempted murder for his role in the shooting of an Alvarado police officer. The local police officer was responding to a request for assistance from detention officers attacked during the July 2025 armed ambush. As Breitbart Texas reports, the officer, who survived his injuries, was seriously injured after being shot in the neck shortly after leaving his marked patrol unit. In total, according to court documents, 20 to 30 bullets were fired at law enforcement during the shooting.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, the jury found eight defendants guilty of rioting and terrorism charges. Defendant Daniel Rolando Sánchez-Estrada was convicted of concealment/suppression of evidence. The jury continues to deliberate on one additional charge.
In addition to Antifa Ringleader Song, the defendants convicted Friday include Savanna Batten, Cameron Arnold, Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, Maricela Rueda, Bradford Morris and Zachary Evetts.
The trial began Feb. 23 at the historic Eldon B. Mahon United States Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth, with Song and his associates facing charges including attempted murder of a federal officer, discharging a firearm during, in connection with and in furtherance of a crime of violence, rioting and providing material support to terrorists.
The 12-day trial included testimony from more than 45 witnesses and presented jurors with more than 210 pieces of evidence in support of the criminal charges against the nine defendants. The prosecution successfully established that all nine defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa cell and part of a larger activist enterprise that calls for the overthrow of the United States government, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
An expert testifying on behalf of the prosecution told the jury that Antifa’s coordinated efforts involve obstructing federal law through the use of riots, violence, including armed confrontations with law enforcement officers, increasingly targeting DHS/ICE agents and facilities in opposition to the agency’s deportation actions.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that most of the Antifa cells involved in the Prairieland attack considered Benjamin Hanil Song their de facto leader. Song acquired the firearms used in the attack and distributed them to the co-defendants.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on the verdict, saying: “Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to thrive in Democratic-run cities – not under President Trump. Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally puts an end to their violence on America’s streets.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Division Chief of Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations of nine Border Patrol stations in the Del Rio Sector, Texas. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
