On the evening of July 4, 2025, a civil disturbance and shooting occurred at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, United States, during one of a series of protests against mass deportations and mass incarcerations carried out during Donald Trump's second presidency. After executive directives from Trump, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) accused protesters and their associates of domestic terrorism; several were convicted of providing material support for terrorism and given decades-long prison sentences.
The protesters gathered at the center around 10:37 p.m.; several arrived in a van which subsequently drove away. The remaining protesters split into small groups; some set off fireworks near detention center buildings while others committed acts of vandalism. ICE called local police; when they arrived, Lieutenant Thomas Gross of the Alvarado police pointed his pistol at two people running away from him, one of whom had a rifle. Another protester, Benjamin Hanil Song of Dallas, fired several rifle shots at three police officers; one shot struck Gross above his collarbone. Gross returned fire as the protesters scattered and fled. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was released from a hospital within hours. Eleven individuals were arrested within a few days; within a month, Song was arrested after a manhunt, and five others were arrested.
Song and others were initially charged with attempted murder. In September 2025, following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Trump signed an executive order designating the anti-fascist political movement antifa as a domestic terror organization, followed by NSPM-7, which instructed federal agencies to "investigate and disrupt [domestic] networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence". In October, the DOJ charged two suspects with terrorism, the first time it had charged anyone with terrorism in connection with antifa. In November, a new federal indictment charged other defendants with providing material support for terrorism and said they were "operatives" in a "North Texas Antifa Cell". In late 2025 and early 2026, five more people connected with the event were arrested or indicted on state charges, bringing the number of accused to 22.
In November 2025, seven defendants pled guilty to federal charges of providing material support for terrorism or damaging property. In February 2026, the federal trial of nine defendants began, but U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman declared a mistrial. A new trial commenced days later, and in March, all nine were convicted. In June, seven were given federal prison sentences between 30 and 70 years, and Song was sentenced to 100 years—the maximum sentences allowable under federal sentencing guidelines. Attorneys for four of the convicts said they were filing appeals. Nine others were sentenced in early July, five of whom received reduced sentences for helping law enforcement or prosecutors.
Defendants and their supporters said the protesters were attending a peaceful noise demonstration and denied planning violence. They also dispute the alleged ties to antifa. At the federal trial, two cooperating defendants disclaimed earlier statements saying the others were part of antifa; one of the pair testified that she had not understood what "antifa cell" meant when she signed a guilty plea that used the term. Commentators have criticized the government for arresting and charging suspects for transporting antifascist zines or wearing black bloc clothing, arguing that that it could have a chilling effect by creating a precedent for prosecuting activists exercising their free speech rights who are associated with activities the government declares to be terrorism.
Background
Deportation under the second Trump administration and protest
During the second administration of Donald Trump, the federal government of the United States has pursued an aggressive immigrant deportation campaign, including forced detention and deportation of individuals from the United States. The main entity behind these mass deportations has been US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which became the largest and most well-funded US federal law enforcement agency with the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
These immigration policies have been controversial and widely criticized, with calls to abolish ICE. Protests against mass deportation during the second Trump administration led to domestic military deployments in Los Angeles in June.
Designation of antifa and leftist activism as domestic terrorism
After the September 10 assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller spoke of an "organized campaign that led to this assassination", describing it as a "vast domestic terror movement" that the federal government would pursue with "every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks."
On September 22, Donald Trump signed an executive order designating the anti-fascist political movement antifa as a domestic terror organization. On September 25, Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), which directed agencies to work with local law enforcement and prioritize investigations into what it described as networks associated with politically motivated violence. It characterized these networks as ideologically motivated by "anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity" as well as "extremism on migration, race, and gender" and animosity to "traditional American views."
Sequence of events
Law enforcement statements and court filings state that, prior to the incident, several defendants participated in a group chat on Signal named "4th of July Party!" and decided to bring fireworks, firearms, and medical kits. Two participants surveilled the detention center and forwarded information about security measures and the location of the nearest police station. Autumn Hill and Meagan Morris lived at a large brick home in Oak Cliff nicknamed the "Big Gay House" that served as a gathering place for local left-wing activists. On July 3, several chat members met there; prosecutors allege that they planned violence, but the protesters contend that they met to make carpooling arrangements and conduct a "gear check".
An attendee at the gear check was Benjamin Hanil Song, a 32-year-old male former US Marine Corps reservist. Song often assumed a leadership role in local leftist protests. He was active in the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA) and conducted firearms training seminars at the Big Gay House for the benefit of other local activists. Susan Kent—an SRA member who attended the gear check but not the protest and who later cooperated with prosecutors—said that Hill asked Song during the gear check whether he intended to bring guns; his response according to Kent—"Yes, I'm not getting arrested"—would later become a focal point for prosecutors.
On the evening of July 4, several protesters met at the house to carpool. The group chat had numerous members who did not participate in the carpool or gear check, and members used cryptic pseudonyms, so no one knew for certain who might show up or who all the chat members were. Eleven protesters gathered near the Prairieland Detention Center at 10:37 pm, several dressed in black "military-style" or black bloc clothing with their faces covered. Not all of the protesters wore black clothing; some wore T-shirts, shorts, tank tops, or baseball jerseys. Joy Gibson and Song showed up in neon-colored face masks because they could not find black ones. The carpoolers reported being surprised by an unfamiliar vehicle driven by a young blond man they did not recognize, Nathan "Nate" Baumann, who verified his identity with his group chat pseudonym. Baumann brought spray paint, which had not been prearranged. Savanna Batten and a married couple, Elizabeth and Ines Soto, also arrived in a separate vehicle. Someone removed a wagon filled with fireworks from a vehicle and pushed it towards the detention center.
Law enforcement officials said the protesters conducted a "diversion" to draw ICE officers out into the open; fireworks were set off, the group split up into several smaller groups, and two protesters spray-painted vehicles and a guard structure with slogans including "Ice pig" and "traitor". The vandals also slashed a van's tires and disabled a security camera. Baumann was one of the vandals; he initially identified the second vandal as Seth Sikes, but later said it was Zachary Evetts. One small group remained near the facility entrance, apparently keeping watch. ICE officers called 911 to report the incident to local law enforcement. Two ICE officers emerged from the compound at 10:58 pm; according to law enforcement officials at a July press conference, the ICE officers were unarmed. Some protesters tossed small fireworks towards the detention center buildings; the FBI's lead investigatory agent later testified that the fireworks caused no measurable damage. One ICE officer told a group of protesters they had to leave; the officer testified that the group appeared to comply and began walking towards the vehicles.
Alvarado police arrived at 10:59 pm, and a protester in a green mask north of the nearby street intersection appeared to signal to the others using a flashlight. According to prosecutors, body camera footage from Alvarado police lieutenant Thomas Gross captures audio of someone saying "get to the rifles" before Gross orders the protesters to stop and get on the ground. Gross drew his pistol and pointed it at two people running away from him—later identified as an unnamed ICE officer chasing the second vandal, either Evetts or Sikes. The vandal ran behind a tree and Gross shifted his attention to the more distant protester in the green mask, who then fired shots in his direction. Two federal officers ran for cover. One of the shots entered the front of Gross's neck above his collarbone, injured his trapezius, and exited from his upper back. He fired three shots at the gunman. After telling another officer which way the protesters went, he was driven to a nearby parking lot and airlifted to a hospital. Initial court filings were inconsistent about the number of shooters and shots fired, saying that one or more shooters fired up to 30 shots, but later filings say that a single shooter fired 11 shots before their gun jammed. Prosecutors said the gunman in the green mask fired first. In late 2025 hearings, there was conflicting testimony regarding who fired first. According to Mark Pittman, one of the judges at trial, the gunfire ended when Song's rifle was struck by a "miracle bullet" fired by Gross. Gross's injuries did not threaten any vital organs, and he was released from a hospital within a few hours after receiving treatment.
Law enforcement recovered "AR-15 style" rifles, 12 sets of body armor, two-way radios, spray paint masks, and flyers with slogans ("Fight ICE terror with class war", "Free all political prisoners"). Batten, Baumann, Gibson, Maricela Rueda, Sikes, and the Sotos were arrested at a nearby intersection, while Evetts was arrested several hours later on foot in Venus, about away. A van seen leaving the scene was pulled over by a Johnson County detective, and the driver, Morris, admitted to transporting people to the detention center to "make some noise". Two AR-15 style rifles, two ballistic vests, a handgun, and a ballistic helmet were found in the van; Morris was arrested and jailed. Morris told the KERA (FM) radio station that she had been parked from the detention center and that she never exited the vehicle during the incident. One suspect had at least two cellphones inside a Faraday bag. A flag saying "Resist Fascism. Fight Oligarchy" was recovered.