Day 520

Prairieland Protesters Sentenced Under 'Antifa Terrorism' Framework to Terms Exceeding January 6 Sentences

In two rounds of federal sentencing on June 23 and July 1, 2026, a Fort Worth court imposed a combined near-500 years in prison on fifteen defendants connected to the July 2025 Prairieland ICE detention center protest in Alvarado, Texas, during which a police officer was shot. Ringleader Benjamin Song received 100 years for attempted murder; co-defendant Ines Soto received 50 years on a 'material support to terrorism' plea plus rioting; others received 30-70 years or, for lower-level participants who pleaded guilty, 2-15 years. Prosecutors labeled the group an 'Antifa cell' and cited possession of firearms and body armor as evidence of terrorist intent. The sentences substantially exceed those given to January 6, 2021 Capitol riot defendants, including those convicted of seditious conspiracy, raising a proportionality and selective-prosecution concern independent of whether the underlying shooting was serious (it was).