Anti-ice protestors get 50 year and 70 year sentences "to send a message" to those w/ similar views

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.reddit.com/r/news/s/bydCDar4oF

A group of Texas protesters convicted of terrorism charges received unusually harsh sentences of at least 50 years in prison on Tuesday in a closely watched case that was widely seen as a test case of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on dissent.

After a three week jury trial, the nine activists were all found guilty of a slew of criminal charges in March, stemming from a Fourth of July protest at an immigrant detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, south of Fort Worth. The demonstrators arrived late at night with a plan to set off fireworks as part of a noise demonstration to show solidarity with those detained inside. A few of the protesters spontaneously broke off from the main group and vandalized cars in the parking lot, a guard shack, slashed the tires on a government van and broke a security camera. When a police officer arrived on the scene and drew his weapon, one of the activists fired an AR-15 from the woods, hitting the officer in the shoulder. The officer survived.


Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Savanna Batten, Elizabeth Soto and Meagan Morris were sentenced to 50 years in prison. Maricela Rueda, another demonstrator, was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Benjamin Song, who fired the gun at the police officer, was sentenced to 100 years in prison.

The sentences handed down on Tuesday were unusually long, said Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor who served as the US attorney for the eastern district of Michigan during the Obama administration.

“Most often, judges will sentence defendants for separate counts concurrently. Here, it appears that the judge stacked the sentences for each count consecutively. I would have expected lengthy sentences here, more in the ballpark at 15 to 25 years, but nothing like 50 to 100 years,” she wrote in an email.

[area51]

1. Meanwhile,

zilch for the Epstein-class rapists.

[GenThePerservering]

2. If they had shot at protestors

and damaged their property, Trump would have given them pardons and a couple of million dollars.

[hookaleft]

13. from what I remember, only one person fired a gun

then they loosely associated everyone else at the protest with the shooter. What a bunch of bullshit. Fucking fascist pigs

[hatrack]

3. Texass . . .

Shocking. Not.

[LeftInTX]

28. It was the feds.

FORT WORTH — Federal judges in Texas on Tuesday gave eight members of an alleged “antifa cell” prison sentences as long as 100 years for their roles last summer in a protest that turned violent outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

https://wapo.st/4fX4q8x

[FalloutShelter]

4. So basically LIFE.

Murderers get lighter sentences. Shit in the Capitol and beat Police officers and get pardoned.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Ridiculous

I can't condone the actions they took beyond the 1st amendment protected protest, but 50 & 75 years is utterly preposterous.

[MustLoveBeagles]

8. Agreed

[tanyev]

6. Meanwhile, Ken Paxton lets a child predator free after 30 days.

[raccoon]

7. That's insane.

[Torchlight]

9. If only they'd killed cops as the J6ers did

they'd be standing in line for hand-outs from the admin and starting book tours about now.

[Klarkashton]

10. Some bastard right wing judge.

Sending a goddamn "message"

Lives ruined for the sake of trump and his bastard army.

[TommyT139]

11. More details show how truly vile rethugs are.

Two of those convicted are trans women. Their chances of surviving in a men's prison, or surviving solitary confinement with a shred of sanity intact, are slim. Those are effectively sentences of torture.

And one of the guys, a husband of one of the protesters, wasn't even there.

The ninth defendant, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada was not at the protest, but was convicted of corruptly concealing a document or record after prosecutors said he moved leftwing zines and other materials at the request of Rueda, his wife, after she was arrested. Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/23/prairieland-ice-protesters-texas-sentenced

This is a war, being fought unilaterally.

[Diraven]

18. 30 years

For rearranging magazines on a coffee table? There's no way that's not getting overturned in appeal.

[DoBW]

12. J6 rioters

enough said

[homegirl]

17. Has anyone

told the pardoned J6 rioters and insurrectionists that "acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt?

[hookaleft]

14. OMG this is horrible

I hate them so much.

[hookaleft]

15. Someone needs to get them appeals lawyers STAT!

[spanone]

16. ...and trmp wants to give reparations to the J6 terrorists.

[Picaro]

19. Typical of Texas

Texas has a long history of these kinds of sentences and worse.

[maxsolomon]

21. I have an acquaintance convicted of Bank Robbery in Texas as a 19-year-old

He did 15.

This is cruel and unusual punishment.

[LeftInTX]

25. Federal Court, not state.

[Martin68]

20. I can only assume these bogus terrorism charges and absurdly draconian sentences will be overturned on appeal.

[maxsolomon]

22. Are these the "Antifa" protestors?

I think these were State charges so it's going to be tough for an appeal to succeed.

Poor fuckers. Guns make everything worse.

[LeftInTX]

27. Federal

FORT WORTH — Federal judges in Texas on Tuesday gave eight members of an alleged “antifa cell” prison sentences as long as 100 years for their roles last summer in a protest that turned violent outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.


https://wapo.st/4fX4q8x

The sentences handed down on Tuesday were unusually long, said Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor who served as the US attorney for the eastern district of Michigan during the Obama administration.

“Most often, judges will sentence defendants for separate counts concurrently. Here, it appears that the judge stacked the sentences for each count consecutively. I would have expected lengthy sentences here, more in the ballpark at 15 to 25 years, but nothing like 50 to 100 years,” she wrote in an email.

Federal courts have sentencing guidelines. I don't know what the guidelines are for consecutive versus concurrent. So, they might be able to appeal the sentencing.

[Bluetus]

23. It is hard to defend people who do violent protests.

Yes, the sentences seem unduly harsh. But I'm not sure we want people like this on our side.

[hookaleft]

24. most of them weren't violent

they were just around the few that were.

[RoeVWade]

26. Who was the judge? Who was the prosecutor(s)?

nt*

[LeftInTX]

29. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman and U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith

Two Trump appointees. O'Connor is a Bush appointee. It's in the district where the crime occurred.