Key facts
- Seven individuals were sentenced to prison for a shooting outside a Texas immigration detention center that injured a police officer.
- Six defendants pleaded guilty to charges related to providing material support to terrorists and received sentences between nearly two and 15 years.
- Ines Soto was sentenced to 50 years after being convicted of terrorism, riot, and planning to use explosives.
- Prosecutors alleged the protest was a conspiracy to ambush law enforcement, categorizing 'antifa' as a terrorist threat.
- Defense attorneys maintained the protest was planned with fireworks and firearms were for self-protection.
- A former Marine reservist, Benjamin "Champagne" Song, received a 100-year sentence in a previous trial for attempted murder.
Seven more individuals have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a shooting outside a Texas immigration detention center that injured a police officer. In Fort Worth courtrooms on Wednesday, six defendants who pleaded guilty to charges including providing material support to terrorists received sentences ranging from nearly two to 15 years. The seventh defendant, Ines Soto, who was convicted of terrorism, riot, and planning to use explosives, was sentenced to 50 years.
These sentences follow harsher penalties handed down to eight individuals previously convicted at trial, including a former Marine reservist who received a 100-year prison term. Prosecutors alleged the group conspired to ambush law enforcement as part of 'antifa' activities, a movement the government categorizes as a terrorist threat. The FBI presented political literature found in defendants' homes as evidence.
Defense attorneys argued that there was no planned ambush and that firearms were brought for protection during a planned demonstration with fireworks to support detained immigrants. They contended that the prosecutions could impact nationwide protest rights and free speech. US district judge Reed O’Connor described the protest as an 'assault on democracy' before imposing lengthy sentences.