The trial over the attack has been seen as the Trump administration’s test case in prosecuting antifa.
FORT WORTH, Texas (CN) – Eight people federal prosecutors said were part of an “antifa cell” they were found guilty Friday on riot and terror-related charges related to an attack on an immigration detention center in Texas.
Prosecutors claimed the eight of them conspired to ambush the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, which is used to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, on July 4, 2025. They alleged that the defendants, along with others, shot off fireworks at the facility and vandalized the property, and that the defendant, Benjamin Song, was called to the police station without death.
All eight were convicted of rioting, providing material support for terrorism and using and possessing an explosive. All but Song were acquitted of charges related to the shooting of the police officer. A ninth defendant was convicted of concealing evidence after the fact.
The trial is widely seen as the first major test of the Trump administration’s efforts to prosecute “antifa” as an organized terrorist group.
Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is a term used to refer to a decentralized movement of activist groups that oppose fascism, racism and far-right extremism. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year by designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, although no official organization exists.
Critics have described the trial as an example of the Trump administration’s attempt to criminalize dissent.
The verdict comes after a two-week trial in which the prosecution presented a number of witnesses, including several people arrested in connection with the incident, who took plea deals. The defense rested without putting any witnesses.
The defense described the event as a peaceful protest gone wrong. Defense lawyers said their clients intended to take part in a “noise demonstration” where they set off fireworks to show support for those detained at the facility and that there was never a plan for violence.
Prosecutors had described Song as the ringleader of the incident. Along with him, they brought charges in connection with the shooting against several other defendants, whom they described as part of Song’s inner circle, on the theory that it was “reasonably foreseeable” to those defendants that he would carry out the shooting.
The defendants will be sentenced in June. They also face charges at the state level, for which they will be tried at a later date.
“Antifa is a homegrown terrorist organization that has been allowed to thrive in cities led by Democrats — not under President Trump,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. STATEMENT. “Today’s ruling on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally stops their violence on America’s streets.”
The DFW Support Committee, which describes itself as a group of friends and loved ones who support the defendants, said in a POST on X was “heartbroken” by the decision.
“This is just the beginning. We will continue to fight the remaining charges until every defendant comes home,” the group said, adding, “Everything about this trial from start to finish has proven what we have said all along: this is a sham trial, built on political persecution and ideological attacks from above.”
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