Eight people convicted in connection with a July 4, 2025, riot outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Prairieland, Texas, were sentenced Tuesday to a combined 450 years in prison, the US Department of Justice announced. The sentences, handed down after a 12-day trial that began Feb. 23, represent the most severe penalties yet in a series of federal prosecutions tied to immigration-protest violence.
Benjamin Hanil Song, whom prosecutors described as the group’s leader, was sentenced to 100 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. The DOJ said Song had faced a minimum penalty of 20 years. According to multiple media outlets and an advocacy group for the defendants, Song said in a written statement Tuesday that he fired his gun because he believed a police officer was preparing to shoot a protester. His mother, Hope Song, disputed claims that he shot the officer and said he did not intend to hurt anyone, the Associated Press reported.
The other sentencings: Maricela Rueda, 70 years; Cameron Arnold, also known as Autumn Hill, 50 years; Savanna Batten, 50 years; Zachary Evetts, 50 years; Bradford Morris, also known as Meagan Morris, 50 years; Elizabeth Soto, 50 years; and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, 30 years.
MSI previously reported that a federal jury in March convicted the eight defendants on dozens of charges stemming from the attack on the Prairieland facility. That article described how prosecutors argued the group operated as a coordinated cell, while defense attorneys argued the government overreached.
The DOJ said North Texas Antifa Cell operatives began shooting and throwing fireworks at the Prairieland facility on Independence Day, vandalized vehicles and a guard kiosk, and were captured on surveillance cameras throwing exploding fireworks at the building. The eight were convicted on charges including rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, and obstruction.
“The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice,” Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
In a statement Tuesday, the DOJ said the North Texas Antifa Cell is 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 US government, law enforcement authorities and the system of law.”
A ninth defendant, Ines Soto, is scheduled to be sentenced July 1. Seven other people who pleaded guilty before trial to one count of providing material support to terrorists will also be sentenced on July 1.
The defendants have denied affiliation with Antifa and said they attended the demonstration to support detained immigrants. Their supporters described the charges as outrageous. Some attendees of the event said they believed the night was supposed to be a “noise demonstration” that did not include violence. A judge called the actions “an assault on democracy,” while family members condemned the length of the sentences.
President Donald Trump in his first term designated Antifa — short for anti-fascist — a domestic terrorist organization in September 2025. Critics of the designation, which has been challenged in court, have said that Antifa is an ideology rather than an organized group with a defined leadership structure or membership, and that subscribing to an ideology is not a crime.