ALVARADO, TEXAS — Eight Texas activists were sentenced to between 30 and 100 years in prison on June 24, 2026, following a violent protest at the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas. One defendant, Benjamin Song, was sentenced for attempted murder. Daniel Sanchez-Estrada, who did not attend the protest, received a 30-year sentence partly for moving a box of zines. Most defendants were sentenced for supposedly belonging to an insurrectionary "Antifa cell." The Department of Justice reportedly conceded that the zines were not illegal.

The July 4, 2025, protest outside the Prairieland Detention Facility involved approximately a dozen protesters who set off fireworks and used a bullhorn. During the protest, individuals slashed an ICE van's tires, broke a security camera, and vandalized a guard shack. A police officer drew his gun upon arriving at the scene. One person shouted, "Get to the rifles," and fired a rifle, according to charging documents. A police officer was shot in the neck and spent three to four hours in the hospital. The officer testified that he "knew" his life was in danger.

Benjamin Song said he fired because he thought the officer was going to fire on a protester. Song was convicted of attempted murder, rioting, discharging a firearm during a violent crime, and providing material support to terrorists. He received a 100-year prison sentence. Prosecutors dubbed Song the "leader of the antifa cell." Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the sentences show that the law will come down hard on "Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities." Song stated in a statement to The Guardian that the sentences were "collective punishment."

Savanna Batten and Elizabeth Soto, who were not involved in planning the protest and arrived separately from other defendants, each received 50-year prison sentences. They left the protest before the shooting occurred when guards instructed them to. Other defendants were convicted of crimes including rioting and providing material support to terrorists. Prosecutors claimed Sanchez-Estrada's action of moving a box of zines was "corruptly concealing a document or record." The zines were made for a book club named after anarchist organizer Emma Goldman, which discussed topics like feminism and "the eradication of artificial intelligence from the face of the earth." The government claimed that the Sotos provided "material support to terrorists" by tabling at a zine fair.

Ines Soto was granted a continuance and will be sentenced on July 1, according to the Department of Justice. Seven other defendants who pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists will also be sentenced on July 1.