Texas Anti-ICE Protesters Sentenced to Decades in Prison For Protesting

Nine protesters in Texas have been sentenced to extraordinarily unusual and long prison terms after being convicted on terrorism-related charges tied to a 2025 demonstration outside an immigrant detention center.

VIA Texas Immigration Law Council

The case stems from a Fourth of July protest at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where activists gathered late at night for a noise demonstration meant to show solidarity with people detained inside. Prosecutors said some demonstrators vandalized property, including vehicles, a guard shack, tires, and a security camera. When law enforcement arrived, one activist, Benjamin Song, fired an AR-15 from nearby woods and struck an officer in the shoulder; the officer survived.

Song was sentenced to 100 years in prison because of the shooting.

Several others, including Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Savanna Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Meagan Morris, received 50-year sentences. Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years. Daniel Sanchez-Estrada, who was not present at the protest, was sentenced to 30 years after prosecutors accused him of moving left-wing materials after his wife’s arrest.

The sentences are stunning not only because of their length, but also because several of the defendants were acquitted of attempted murder and firearms charges. Legal observers have noted that the judge appears to have stacked sentences consecutively, creating prison terms far beyond what many expected.

The Trump administration celebrated the outcome, framing the case as a victory against “Antifa terrorists,” but that framing is exactly what makes this case so alarming.

“Antifa” is not a formal organization; it’s a broad label often used to describe anti-fascist politics, protest movements, and decentralized left-wing activism. In this case, prosecutors leaned heavily on that label, arguing that the defendants were part of a “North Texas antifa cell.” Critics say the government used politics, reading material, group chats, Signal messages, and left-wing zines to portray loosely connected activists as a coordinated terrorist threat.

Although one person fired a gun, the government’s case went far beyond individual accountability. Prosecutors secured terrorism-related convictions against people who did not fire a weapon, some of whom were not accused of planning the shooting, and at least one person who was not even at the protest.

The punishment handed down to these protesters is longer than the harshest sentences given to far-right leaders involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy, was sentenced to 22 years, and Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, received 18 years. They’ve both been released in 2025 thanks to Trump’s full pardon.

The message being sent is clear: protest against state violence, ICE, and the carceral system can be reframed as terrorism, and political beliefs can be used as evidence. An association can become a conspiracy, reading material can become ideology, encrypted messaging can become suspicious, and proximity to one person’s violent act can become the basis for decades in prison.

The federal government has already pursued similar cases against activists in other cities, including Minneapolis, Spokane, and Chicago. The pattern is deeply troubling: anti-ICE protests are increasingly being treated not as civil disobedience or political resistance, but as a national security threat.

This case should force a national conversation about proportionality, political prosecution, and the expanding use of terrorism language against domestic protest movements. Because when the state can turn loosely affiliated activists into “terrorists,” it creates a playbook that can be used against anyone who challenges government power.