A federal jury in Texas on Friday returned guilty verdicts for nine individuals accused of carrying out a shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center last year, the Justice Department said.
Local media reported that eight of the nine defendants were convicted on counts that included providing material support to terrorists, rioting, conspiring to use and carry explosives, and using explosives during a riot. The convictions followed a 12-day trial held in Texas.
Prosecutors charged the defendants in connection with a non-fatal shooting of a police officer that occurred on July 4 at the immigration facility in Alvarado, Texas. Authorities have said the defendants were dressed in black "military-style" clothing with head and face coverings when they carried out the attack on the facility.
The defendants have been described by the Trump administration as members of the antifa movement, which President Donald Trump designated last year as a domestic terrorist organization. Federal officials said the case is the first instance in which federal prosecutors filed terrorism charges specifically targeting antifa, a largely unstructured, far-left movement whose adherents broadly seek to confront those they view as authoritarian or racist.
Reactions from law enforcement and government officials were swift. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said after the verdict that this will not be the last case of its kind under the Trump administration. ICE Director Todd M. Lyons called the summer attack violent in nature and described it as "an abhorrent way for antifa terrorists to 'protest.'"
The nine individuals convicted are Cameron Arnold, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada.
Defense responses were limited immediately after the verdict. Lawyers for eight of the nine defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cody Cofer, attorney for Arnold, who was described as the lead defendant, criticized the government's narrative and indicated plans to appeal.
"We are thankful that the jury could see through the Government's fear mongering antifa 'ambush' narrative," Cofer said. "We are afraid that our client's guilty verdicts for Riot and related charges resulted from a compromise during deliberations or failure to consider our client's individual conduct."
Cofer told reporters he intends to appeal the convictions. Beyond that, the Justice Department statement and media reports did not provide additional details about sentencing timelines or potential penalties for the convicted individuals.
The verdict closes the 12-day trial phase but, as officials and defense counsel have indicated, legal proceedings could continue through appeal. The case has drawn attention because federal prosecutors framed the actions as terrorism-related and because it represents an unusual use of terrorism statutes against alleged members of an anti-establishment movement.
Information released after the trial reflected the positions of both prosecutors and defense counsel, with prosecutors emphasizing the violent nature of the July 4 incident and defense counsel contesting the government's characterization of events and expressing concern about the jury's deliberations.