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Texas Antifa Convictions Provide ‘Roadmap’ for Implementing Trump Counterterrorism Strategy: Prosecutor

Antifa rioters in Portland on Aug. 4, 2018. (Kainoa Little/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

Tyler O'Neil / @Tyler2ONeil

Tyler O'Neil is senior editor at The Daily Signal and the author of two books: "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center," and "The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government."

Last week, a jury convicted eight alleged members of an Antifa cell for providing material support to terrorists, and the lead prosecutor says the case presents a “roadmap” to implement President Donald Trump’s strategy to combat domestic terrorism and organized political violence.

The jury convicted eight people of riot, providing material support to terrorists, and other charges related to a July 4, 2025 riot outside the Prairieland Detention Facility operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Rioters set off fireworks, and when police arrived at the scene, one of the rioters opened fire, wounding an officer in the shoulder.

Before trial, seven other defendants pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists.

The agitators organized via the app Signal and had Antifa magazines and other materials showing leftist ideology and anti-government intentions, the government argued at trial. Ryan Raybould, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said the verdicts will help advance President Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum-7, which directs federal agencies to combat organized political violence, especially in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination in September.

“Antifa was found to be a domestic terrorist organization and that these defendants were found to provide material support, I think, is very consistent with NSPM-7 and the priority of this administration to try to stop political violence by domestic terrorist groups,” Raybould told The Daily Signal in a phone interview on Wednesday.

“This case shows a roadmap for charging individuals that commit violent acts that are coordinating through their Antifa affiliation,” he explained.

Raybould noted that “the Antifa membership, which was demonstrated through Signal chats, through pamphlets and flyers and their messages back and forth, really showed that there was hostility towards ICE agents and this government installation and that it was coordinated—they weren’t just peaceful protesters.”

The U.S. attorney said that many of the rioters had engaged in a peaceful protest earlier that day, but the riot involving fireworks and firearms did not constitute peaceful protest.

“The jury did find that they committed terroristic acts,” Raybould noted. “This was not a peaceful protest. This was a coordinated riot and assault and attack.”

He said the case provides “an extremely powerful roadmap and statement on political violence.”

Raybould said he hoped the verdict would deter “any and all political violence.”

“People are welcome to peaceful protest and raise their voices but when it crosses the line into violence and terroristic acts, and slashing tires, and shooting fireworks at government institutions, and shooting a cop, that is when you will meet the full force of the federal government,” the prosecutor said.

Trump’s Terrorism Strategy

Trump’s memorandum notes examples of political violence that fit under the “umbrella of self-described ‘anti-fascism.'” The president explains that the movement portrays “foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) as ‘fascist’ to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution.”

“This ‘anti-fascist’ lie has become the organizing rallying cry used by domestic terrorists to wage a violent assault against democratic institutions, constitutional rights, and fundamental American liberties,” the memorandum notes.

It mentions common threads such as “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”

Left-leaning groups have condemned the memo.

“NSPM-7 is a deliberate attempt to sow fear and intimidate and silence opposition to the president’s abuses,” the American Civil Liberties Union‘s Hina Shamsi wrote.

The White House defended the memo in a statement to The Daily Signal.

“The President’s Memorandum is focused on investigating, disrupting, dismantling, and prosecuting individuals and entities engaged in organized political violence and domestic terrorism – specifically the sophisticated and organized campaigns that necessitate a new law enforcement strategy,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Daily Signal.

“Left-wing organizations have fueled violent riots, organized attacks against law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot materials, and more.”

“The Trump administration will get to the bottom of this vast network inciting violence in American communities, and the president’s executive actions to address left-wing violence will put an end to any illegal activities,” she added.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson emphasized that the verdict represents justice.

“We have been clear: anyone who attacks law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the spokesperson told The Daily Signal. “On July 4, 2025, a group of Antifa rioters violently attacked the ICE Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas using weapons and explosives. An Alvarado police officer was shot in the attack.”

Benjamin Song, the leader who shot the police officer, faces a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.

The others convicted of most charges at trial—Cameron Arnold (a.k.a. Autumn Hill), Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris (a.k.a. Meagan Morris), Marcela Rueda, Elisabeth Soto, and Ines Soto—face between 10 and 60 years in prison, while the final defendant, Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, faces up to 40 years in prison.

Seven others—Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas—face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison for providing material support to terrorists.

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