Antifa Terror Cell Leader Gets 100 Years for Armed Attack on Texas ICE Facility. The Rest Got Up to 70.
An antifa cell leader was sentenced to 100 years for ordering an armed attack on a Texas ICE facility on the Fourth of July. They brought 50 firearms, body armor, and Faraday bags. One officer was shot in the neck. A Texas court called it terrorism.
Eight convicted. 450 years in combined sentences. One police officer shot in the neck on July 4th. This was not a protest.
Benjamin Song, identified by federal prosecutors as the leader of a North Texas antifa cell and a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, was sentenced to 100 years in federal prison Tuesday for his role in a premeditated terrorist attack on the Prairieland ICE detention facility on July 4, 2025. Seven co-defendants received sentences ranging from 30 to 70 years. The combined total is 450 years behind bars, handed down before the one-year anniversary of the attack.
This is the first sentencing of defendants affiliated with Antifa following President Donald Trump's executive order designating the group as a domestic terrorist organization in September 2025.
They Planned This. They Armed for It. They Executed It.
The group arrived late at night dressed in black bloc attire with face coverings, brought 11 firearms, body armor, and military-grade first aid kits to the scene. They threw fireworks and explosives at the facility, vandalized vehicles and a guard shack, sprayed graffiti, and destroyed a surveillance camera. Unarmed correctional officers took cover and called 911.
When Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross arrived and began issuing commands, Song can be heard on police bodycam video yelling "get to the rifles!" before opening fire, striking Lt. Gross in the neck as unarmed correctional officers ducked and ran for cover. Gross survived. Song fled the scene and remained at large with the help of others until his capture on July 15, 2025.
Evidence at trial revealed that Song acquired firearms he distributed to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions he conducted, as well as from various ideologically aligned groups. The cell acquired over 50 firearms in the Fort Worth and Dallas area prior to July 4. Members used an encrypted messaging app with auto-delete functions to coordinate, discussing the layout of the facility, the location of nearby police stations, and what materials to bring, including firearms. Many had turned off their phones or placed them in Faraday bags to avoid tracking.
Over the course of a 12-day trial, jurors heard testimony from 46 witnesses and considered more than 210 exhibits. The defense chose not to present a single witness, resting immediately after the government closed its case.
The Sentences
Benjamin Song received 100 years for the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. Maricela Rueda received 70 years. Autumn Hill, Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Meagan Morris, and Elizabeth Soto each received 50 years. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada received 30 years. Ines Soto is scheduled to be sentenced July 1, alongside seven additional defendants who pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists, each facing up to 15 years.
What the Government Said
The DOJ did not mince words. "The sentences handed down today make clear that antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
FBI Director Kash Patel added: "Today's sentencings show the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and dismantling Antifa and its funding networks across the country. Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated."
Not a Protest. A Terror Cell.
For years, politicians, media figures, and activists insisted Antifa was simply an idea – a loose, leaderless collection of people opposed to fascism rather than an organized group capable of coordinated political violence. Song himself told the court before sentencing that he doesn't hate cops, denied being part of Antifa, and called anti-fascism a belief. "What kind of people are not against fascism?" he said.
The evidence at trial answered that question differently. A cell with a leader. Fifty firearms acquired and distributed. Combat training sessions. Encrypted communications. Body armor. Faraday bags. A planned attack on a federal facility on the Fourth of July. One police officer shot in the neck.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas was direct: "Their terrorist acts, attempted murder, vandalism, and explosives launched at a detention facility were a far cry from a peaceful protest or First Amendment expression."
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