Texas Antifa Cell Faces Decades in Prison for Alleged ICE Attack and Explosives Plot

ALVARADO, TX- CBS News reports that a grand jury has indicted nine members of a “North Texas Antifa cell” on charges ranging from rioting to attempted murder in connection with a July 4 attack on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Alvarado, Texas, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson said on Friday. Recall that, according to Democrats, antifa is an “idea” and not an organized terrorist organization. 

In addition to the nine, seven others were “charged by information,” which is a formal charging document that outlines alleged crimes but serves as an alternative to an indictment. 

Body camera footage showed the chaotic scene as gunfire erupted. Over 50 weapons were seized in connection with the group, authorities said. The facility houses between 1,000 and 2,000 illegal aliens. 

A witness said the Prairieland facility had no security on the night of the shooting. They also said the facility has suffered from significant staffing shortages. The facility now has 24/7 armed officers in at least three different locations. 

The indictment alleges that at least eleven of the defendants rioted and attacked the detention facility. 

Those charged in Thursday’s indictment include Cameron Arnold, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Stot, and Daniel Rolando Sanches-Estrada, who were cited for numerous offenses in connection with their role in the attack. 

The nine face the following charges:

• Riot: Arnold, Evetts, Song, Batten, Morris, Rueda, E. Soto, I. Soto
• Providing material support to terrorists: Arnold, Evetts, Song, Batten, Morris, Rueda, E. Soto, I. Soto
• Conspiracy to use and carry an explosive and using and carrying an explosive: Arnold, Evetts, Song, Batten, Morris, Rueda, E. Soto, I. Soto
• Attempted murder of an officer: Song, Arnold, Evetts, Morris, Rueda
• Discharging a firearm during a violent crime: Song, Arnold, Evetts, Morris, Rueda
• Corruptly concealing a document: Sanchez-Estrada
• Conspiracy to conceal documents: Sanchez-Estrada, Rudea

All are scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 3 in front of a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Texas, CBS reported. 

The accused face lengthy prison sentences if convicted. Song, Arnold, Evetts, Morris, and Rueda face a minimum of 10 years in federal prison; Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto each face 10 to 50 years in federal prison; Sanchez-Estrada faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. 

In October, Arnold and Evetts were federally charged with providing material support to terrorists, attempted murder of officers and employees of the U.S., and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, according to the DOJ’s indictment. That came after President Trump signed an executive order designating antifa a domestic terrorist organization. 

The information charges Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas with one count each of providing material support to terrorists. They each face up to 15 years in federal prison. 

Another defendant, Seth Sikes, was charged by information in late October with one count of providing material support to terrorists. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison as well. 

Guilty plea hearings for Baumann, Gibson, Thomas, Sharp, and Sikes will be held in front of a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Texas next week, while Morgan is set to plead guilty the following week. 

In another incident on July 7 in McAllen, Texas, Ryan Louis Mosqueda, armed with an assault rifle, fired dozens of rounds at federal agents as they were leaving a U.S. Border Patrol facility in the city. MOsqueda injured a responding officer before he was shot and killed by police. Investigators later found other weapons, ammunition, and backpacks inside his car. 

“The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X at the time. “I’m praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families. 

On Sept. 24, a sniper opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas from the roof of a nearby law office and into a courtyard where detainees were signing paperwork before being transported to detention centers. That led to one detainee being killed and two being wounded. 

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons identified the shooter as Joshua Jahn, 29. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said a search of Jahn’s devices revealed he was searching for information about ballistics, video of the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk, and apps that tracked the presence of ICE agents. 

“Anti-ICE” messaging was found on shell casings at the scene after shots were fired “indiscriminately” at the facility and a van in the sallyport, officials said at the time.