Eight individuals have received lengthy prison sentences — ranging from 30 to 100 years — following a violent assault on a federal immigration facility in Texas that prosecutors labeled domestic terrorism.
The attack took place on July 4, 2025, when prosecutors say militants dressed in black tactical gear opened fire on law enforcement officers stationed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, located roughly 25 miles south of Fort Worth. One police officer was injured in the incident.
Benjamin Song, identified by prosecutors as the mastermind behind the operation, was handed the stiffest penalty — 100 years behind bars — after being convicted of attempted murder, according to court documents.
During proceedings at U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, two judges handed down sentences ranging from 30 to 70 years to seven additional defendants. Most of those individuals had been convicted back in March on charges that included rioting and supporting terrorism.
Prosecutors alleged the attackers were affiliated with antifa, a decentralized anti-fascist movement that President Donald Trump designated as a domestic terrorist organization last year. However, defense attorneys pushed back on that characterization, arguing their clients had intended to hold a peaceful demonstration in support of people being held at the immigration facility.
Song’s attorney, Philip Hayes, indicated his client plans to appeal the verdict. Hayes described those who were convicted not as terrorists, but as “a bunch of kids and young adults who really have a really big heart and really wanted their voice to be heard.”
In addition to Song, the others sentenced were identified as Autumn Hill, Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. A ninth individual, Ines Soto, is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
Attorneys representing the defendants and the U.S. Justice Department had not responded to requests for comment at the time of this report.
