In a national first, the U.S. Department of Justice has brought the hammer down on the officially-designated terrorist organization Antifa — this week doling out 450 years of prison time to members of the group in Texas for their attack on a federal immigration facility a year ago.
One of those convicted and sentencesd was the alleged leader of the north Texas cell, Benjamin Hanil Song, a former Marine reservist, who a federal court judge slammed with a whopping 100 years in prison for the attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer at suburban Fort Worth’s Prairieland Detention Center on July 4, 2025.
A news outlet obtained body cam footage of the attack.
Five of the seven other Antifa members received sentences of 50 years each, with one remaining member getting 70 years and another 30 years for their parts in the protest, which featured explosives, vandalism, and rioting.
Five of the defendants were women.
“This is the first sentencing of defendants affiliated with Antifa following President Donald J. Trump’s executive order designating the group as a Domestic Terrorist Organization in September 2025,” the DOJ said in a statement.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche commented on the successful prosecution of the members for what was described as “a far cry from a peaceful protest or First Amendment expression” in a 12-day jury trial in February.
He said:
The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice.
Their violent extremism has no place in our country, and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt, and prosecute those who threaten law enforcement officers or undermine the rule of law.
Evidence at trial revealed that members of the cell in the Prairieland attack looked to Benjamin Song as a leader. Song ”acquired firearms that he distributed to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions he conducted,” prosecutors said.
According to the DOJ:
Testimony and other evidence at trial established that the defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa Cell, part of a larger militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to an ideology that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law. An expert testifying in the government’s case told the jury that ANTIFA’s coordinated efforts involve obstructing Federal law through organized riots, violent assaults, and armed confrontations with law enforcement officers, increasingly targeting agents and facilities related to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in opposition to the agency’s deportation actions.
Acting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director David J. Venturella also commented on the weighty sentences.
“The sentences handed down today send an unmistakable message: Attacks on federal officers and facilities will not be tolerated,” he said. “The men and women of ICE serve with integrity and courage, often in challenging and dangerous environments.”
The defendants dressed in so-called “black bloc” attire: dark clothing with head and face coverings that concealed their identities. The garb is designed to hide each individual’s identity “but also to aid and abet those members engaged in illegal acts by making members indistinguishable from one another to law enforcement,” prosecutors said.
Trial evidence established that members brought eleven firearms, body armor, and “eleven military-grade first aid kits with tourniquets and other items to treat gunshot wounds to the scene of the attack,” prosecutors said.
Witnesses testified that an Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911. Defendant Song was heard on police bodycam video yelling “get to the rifles” when he opened fire himself on the officers, striking the Alvarado police officer in the neck.
Another alleged assailant fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility, according to local news reports at the time.
More sentences are expected next month. According to the DOJ statement:
The sentences follow a 12-day trial that began on Feb. 23, where jurors heard testimony from 46 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits supporting the charges against nine indicted defendants: Cameron Arnold, also known as Autumn Hill; Zachary Evetts; Benjamin Song; Savanna Batten; Bradford Morris, also known as Meagan Morris; Maricela Rueda; Elizabeth Soto; Ines Soto; and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. All were convicted. Ines Soto was granted a continuance and will be sentenced on July 1.
Seven others, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas, pleaded guilty prior to trial to one count of providing material support to terrorists and they will be sentenced on July 1.
The detention center in Alvardao, a town of about 6,200 residents some 28 miles south of Fort Worth, is used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to house illegal aliens
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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