{"id":349350,"date":"2026-06-25T02:25:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/349350\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T02:25:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:25:30","slug":"8-defendants-get-max-sentences-in-prairieland-ice-riot-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/349350\/","title":{"rendered":"8 defendants get max sentences in Prairieland ICE riot case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eight defendants from North Texas received the maximum possible sentences Tuesday for their roles in a domestic terrorism case in which they were found guilty of charges including rioting and attempted murder of a police officer at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center<\/a> in Alvarado.<\/p>\n

Attorneys and families of the defendants<\/a> said an appeal will be filed.<\/p>\n

The defendants, whom federal prosecutors described as antifa operatives, were convicted after a 12-day trial in March and were sentenced in hearings with two judges in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Hanil Song, the defendant who was convicted of attempted murder for shooting and wounding an Alvarado police lieutenant during the July 4, 2025, incident, received a 100-year federal prison sentence.<\/p>\n

Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years, and Elizabeth Soto and Meagan Morris were each sentenced to 50 years.<\/p>\n

Those four defendants were sentenced by Judge Mark Pittman, who oversaw the trial, and four others \u2014 Autumn Hill, also known as Cameron Arnold; Zachary Evetts; Savanna Batten; and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada \u2014 were sentenced by Chief District Judge Reed O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n

Batten, Evetts and Hill received 50-year sentences.<\/p>\n

The defendants sentenced to 50 years or more were all convicted of providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and using and carrying explosives during a riot.<\/p>\n

Sanchez-Estrada, the only defendant not present at the detention center on the night of the shooting, was found guilty of corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents. He was sentenced to 30 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defendants\u2019 violence and terrorism is an assault on democracy,\u201d O\u2019Conner said while imposing the sentences, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office. \u201cThe defendants\u2019 planning, staging, and execution of the attack led to the attempted murder of an officer who ironically is not even involved in enforcing immigration law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ines Soto, who was convicted at the trial, and seven other defendants who pleaded guilty in the case are scheduled to be sentenced on July 1. Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp and John Thomas each pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists . Those who pleaded guilty face up to 15 years in prison. Several of them testified as cooperating witnesses for the prosecution<\/p>\n

Defense attorneys argued during the trial that the defendants planned a peaceful protest and noise demonstration with fireworks to show support for people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors have described the case as the first domestic terrorism trial to lead to convictions of alleged antifa cell members. The defendants denied having connections to antifa.<\/p>\n

Antifa is short for anti-fascists. It is not a single organization but a decentralized movement of far-left militant groups who confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice,\u201d said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement after the fact.<\/p>\n

Blanche said violent extremism has no place in the U.S. and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively act upon anyone who threatens law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors called Song the Prairieland group\u2019s ringleader. He fled after the shooting and was captured over a week later.<\/p>\n

At Tuesday\u2019s sentencing hearing, Pittman heard from three witnesses who spoke on Song\u2019s character. A friend of the Song family, Song\u2019s high school wresting coach and Song\u2019s uncle asked the judge to consider leniency in the sentencing. They said he is bright, a team-player and that his family is proud of him.<\/p>\n

In a statement before the sentencing, Song thanked his family and friends for their support and said he doesn\u2019t hate anyone, including police officers or President Donald Trump. He said his main belief is that people should help each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the evidence showed, I did not want to hurt anyone,\u201d Song said as the chains on his arms rattled. \u201cI never had the intent to hurt anyone. I tried my best to avoid hurting anyone. It is impossible to say that I was trying to ambush anyone or planning any violence. I was shocked and surprised and saddened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Song said he saw the police officer, Lt. Thomas Gross, aiming a gun at the back of a fellow protester who was running away. Song described that scenario as his worst nightmare and said he\u2019s grateful the group isn\u2019t mourning a death like that of Renee Good or Alex Pretti<\/a>, who were shot after confrontations with ICE agents earlier this year in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Song said the case was stacked against him, evidence was covered up, and he wasn\u2019t allowed to argue self-defense.<\/a> \u201cThe government is blinded by hate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is bigger than me,\u201d Song said. \u201cI know I am the person standing here. I know I am the person being judged, but I also know that a case like this can become a warning to everyone else. If you speak, if you protest, if you try to protect someone, if you are associated with the wrong idea, you can be turned into a symbol instead of treated like a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Pittman told Song that the hearing wasn\u2019t the time to make a political speech and asked whether he had anything else to say about himself other than that he\u2019s afraid of the government.<\/p>\n

Pittman said it\u2019s \u201cby the grace of God\u201d the situation was not worse than it was because of Song\u2019s \u201ctripped out AR-15.\u201d The judge said it could have been an \u201cabsolute slaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s by the grace of God that Song is not dead,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cHe managed to get 11 shots in seconds; then the officer shooting blindly happened to hit the magazine well of Song\u2019s rifle. Mr. Song\u2019s lucky he isn\u2019t dead. We had a guardian angel that ensured that Mr. Song isn\u2019t dead, and we don\u2019t have several deceased people at Prairieland.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evidence was overwhelmingly against Song, Pittman told the courtroom Tuesday. He told Song\u2019s defense attorneys they can take up their arguments with the appellate court.<\/p>\n

Morris was the only other defendant who spoke during the hearing with Pittman. Through sobs, she said, \u201cAll I\u2019ve ever wanted to do is help people. I didn\u2019t want what happened that night to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Rachel Royster<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eight defendants from North Texas received the maximum possible sentences Tuesday for their roles in a domestic terrorism…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-349350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}