A federal jury in Fort Worth delivered guilty verdicts against all nine defendants charged in connection with the July 4, 2025 ambush of an ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas. Eight were convicted on federal counts including providing material support to terrorists, rioting, and conspiracy to carry an explosive. The ninth was found guilty of corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents.
Benjamin Song, identified by prosecutors as the protest leader who planned the attack, was convicted of attempted murder of officers and employees of the United States and discharging a weapon. An Alvarado Police Officer who was shot in the neck during the ambush survived and testified at trial.
The verdicts land after a nearly three-week trial that included 45 witnesses and over 210 exhibits. They represent the most significant federal prosecution of Antifa-linked violence to date, and the terrorism charges carry weight that goes far beyond this single case.
The government's case centered on a straightforward theory: Song orchestrated an ambush, using fireworks as a distraction before shooting a police officer in the neck. The other defendants aided the attack or helped cover it up afterward. Prosecutors labeled the group's actions as domestic terrorism.
The jury agreed on the core charges. According to Breitbart, all eight defendants besides Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada were found guilty on Counts 1 through 4, which included providing material support to terrorists, rioting, conspiracy to carry an explosive, and use and carrying of an explosive. Song was additionally convicted on the attempted murder and firearm discharge counts, though the jury acquitted him on two of the three attempted murder charges.
Sanchez-Estrada and Maricela Rueda were both convicted of conspiracy to conceal documents, with Sanchez-Estrada also guilty of corruptly concealing a document. Several defendants were acquitted on other counts, but not one walked away clean.
Five additional suspects had previously pleaded guilty to a single charge each of providing material support to terrorists, facing up to 15 years in federal prison. Song had been the twelfth suspect arrested, apprehended on July 15 after the other eleven were taken into custody shortly following the incident.
Defense attorneys attempted to frame the ambush as a protest gone wrong, or really, as a protest that never went wrong at all. That argument did not survive contact with the evidence.
Defense attorney Lesa Pamplin offered this after the verdict:
"Our First Amendment Rights are basically dead at this point. If you consider a peaceful protest a riot, then I don't know what the definition of riot is anymore."
A police officer was shot in the neck. Explosives were carried and used. A jury reviewed 210 exhibits and heard from 45 witnesses over three weeks. They returned guilty verdicts on terrorism charges. Calling this a "peaceful protest" is not a legal strategy. It is a reflex.
Defense attorney Warren St. John struck a more measured tone, acknowledging the jury's diligence while expressing disappointment. Pamplin, for her part, simply said the jury had spoken and they would move forward.
Outside the courthouse, a supporter or family member was heard saying, "This is not the America I believe in." It is unclear which part they objected to: the ambush of a federal facility, or the consequences for it.
After taking office, President Donald Trump signed an order to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. This trial put that designation to the test in a federal courtroom, and the jury validated it. Eight defendants now carry terrorism convictions.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi framed the verdict as the beginning, not the end, in a Department of Justice press release:
"Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to flourish in Democrat-led cities — not under President Trump."
She followed with a promise:
"Today's verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America's streets."
For years, the political left treated Antifa as either a myth or a loose idea rather than an organization. Cable news pundits described it as "an ideology, not a group." Elected officials looked the other way as masked militants set fires, assaulted journalists, and terrorized communities from Portland to Minneapolis. The standard line was that acknowledging Antifa as an organized threat was itself a form of right-wing extremism.
A federal jury just convicted eight people of providing material support to terrorists. The "idea, not an organization" talking point now has a body count and a verdict sheet.
The road to conviction was not smooth. The trial had a false start in February when a mistrial was declared during jury selection due to an issue U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman had with a T-shirt worn by defense attorney MarQuetta Clayton. The nature of the T-shirt's message was not detailed, but the incident forced the process to restart.
When proceedings resumed, Judge Pittman spent a full day personally questioning prospective jurors and alternates before the trial's jurors were sworn in on February 23. The case then moved forward without further disruption through its nearly three-week run.
On December 3, 2025, four of the suspects had pleaded not guilty, including Song, who entered not-guilty pleas on ten counts. Those counts included three separate charges of attempted murder, two counts of discharging a firearm, and multiple other federal offenses. The jury ultimately convicted him on one attempted murder count and one firearm discharge count while acquitting on others.
Sentencing dates have not been announced. The material support for terrorism charges alone carry severe federal penalties, and Song's attempted murder conviction adds significantly to his exposure. The five defendants who previously pleaded guilty face up to 15 years each.
The broader implications extend well beyond this courtroom. For the first time, the federal government prosecuted alleged Antifa members on terrorism charges, secured convictions, and established a precedent that organized political violence will be treated as what it is. Not protest. Not civil disobedience. Terrorism.
The defense will appeal. Pamplin all but telegraphed it. But the facts of this case are stubborn things: explosives at a federal facility, a coordinated plan, a police officer with a bullet wound in his neck, and a jury that saw through the First Amendment costuming.
An officer took a round to the neck on Independence Day while defending a federal building. He survived. He testified. And a jury held every single defendant accountable.