9 Antifa members convicted for Texas ICE detention center shooting

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Monday, March 16, 2026

Nine members of an Antifa cell have been found guilty of violently assaulting a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas last July.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that a federal jury in Fort Worth found the defendants guilty of charges that included providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, rioting, using weapons and explosives and the attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer.

Those found guilty included Cameron Arnold (also known as Autumn Hill), Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris (also known as Meagan Morris), Maricela Rueda, Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, Benjamin Song, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto.

Seven other individuals — Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp and John Thomas — pleaded guilty last year to one count of providing material support to terrorists.

According to testimony and evidence presented during the trial, prosecutors argued that the defendants were part of a North Texas Antifa cell connected to a broader militant network composed of small groups and individuals who share an ideology calling for the overthrow of the U.S. government, law enforcement and the legal system.

An expert witness for the government told jurors that Antifa-affiliated groups often coordinate activities that include riots, violent attacks and armed confrontations with police in an effort to obstruct federal law. The expert also testified that the movement has increasingly targeted agents and facilities tied to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in opposition to the agency’s deportation operations.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas said that the guilty verdicts “rightly reflect the vicious, armed attack that these Antifa cell members planned and executed against law enforcement and detention center officers.”

“Their terrorist acts, attempted murder, vandalism, and explosives launched at a detention facility were a far cry from some peaceful protest or First Amendment expression,” stated Raybould.

“Because of the prompt action of first responders that night and tenacious work of our law enforcement partners in tandem with the prosecutors in my office, sixteen people have been brought to justice for these violent acts and their attempts to conceal them.”

Federal authorities "will continue in this mission to hold others accountable who perpetrate such violence and fund these Antifa groups in the Northern District of Texas," Raybould said.

On Independence Day 2025, a large group of Antifa activists attacked the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado. The attackers donned tactical gear and carried weapons, wounding a local police officer during the assault.

Within days of the attack, Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested 10 people involved in the assault. Suspects faced charges of terrorism, aggravated assault on a public servant with a deadly weapon, or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer.

Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons stated in the announcement that an “escalation in violence” was occurring against his personnel and blamed “disinformation and dangerous politically-motivated rhetoric.”

The Department of Homeland Security reported in January that ICE officers have faced an 8,000% increase in death threats and a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them. 

ICE operations have garnered increased criticism since last year. Critics have taken issue with tactics that allegedly involve detaining undocumented immigrants in the streets while wearing facemasks and not showing proper identification.

In January, ICE drew more scrutiny for operations in Minnesota over two high-profile incidents that resulted in the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.