A jury convicts and a court sentences nine Texas anti-ICE protesters to prison terms of at least 50 years following a July 4, 2019 protest at an immigrant detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. According to reports, the group arrived late at night with a plan to use fireworks as part of a noise demonstration expressing solidarity with people detained inside. During the incident, some protesters broke away and vandalized property in the facility’s parking area, including cars and a guard shack, slashed tires on a government van, and broke a security camera.
When a police officer arrived and drew his weapon, one protester fired an AR-15 from nearby woods, striking the officer in the shoulder; the officer survived. The court finds the defendants guilty of multiple charges after a three-week trial completed in March, and on Tuesday issued lengthy sentences ranging from 50 years to 100 years in some cases. The prosecution characterizes the case as terrorism-related; the administration described the group as connected to an “antifa cell.” Multiple outlets report that it is the first federal effort to prosecute protesters under domestic-terrorism-related charges connected to opposition to the administration’s immigration policies.
