Leader of Antifa Cell Members in North Texas Sentenced to 100 Years in Prison for Terrorist Attack on ICE Facility

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Seven Additional Defendants Also Sentenced Before One-Year Anniversary of Attack to a Combined 450 Years in Prison Today, the Justice Department announced that eight North Texas Antifa Cell operatives were sentenced for their roles in rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and the attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center on July 4, 2025.

This is the first sentencing of defendants affiliated with Antifa following President Donald J. Trump’s executive order designating the group as a Domestic Terrorist Organization in September 2025. Benjamin Hanil Song, who was convicted of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, was sentenced to 100 years in prison. Together, the Prairieland terrorists received a combined sentence of 450 years in prison: 

  • Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years in prison;
  • Cameron Arnold was sentenced to 50 years in prison;
  • Savanna Batten was sentenced to 50 years in prison;
  • Zachary Evetts was sentenced to 50 years in prison;
  • Bradford Morris was sentenced to 50 years in prison;
  • Elizabeth Soto was sentenced to 50 years in prison;
  • Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

“The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their violent extremism has no place in our country, and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt, and prosecute those who threaten law enforcement officers or undermine the rule of law.”

“Today’s sentencings show the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and dismantling Antifa and its funding networks across the country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated, and we continue our work to protect communities across the country from domestic terrorism.” “These sentences justly punish the vicious, armed attack that these Antifa cell members planned and executed against law enforcement and detention center officers on the night of July 4th last year,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas.

“Their terrorist acts, attempted murder, vandalism, and explosives launched at a detention facility were a far cry from a peaceful protest or First Amendment expression.  Because of the prompt action of first responders that night and tenacious work of our law enforcement partners, in tandem with the prosecutors in my office, eight people have been rightly punished for these violent acts and their attempts to conceal them.  We will continue in this mission to hold others accountable who perpetrate such violence and fund these ANTIFA groups in the Northern District of Texas.” “The sentences handed down today send an unmistakable message: Attacks on federal officers and facilities will not be tolerated. The men and women of ICE serve with integrity and courage, often in challenging and dangerous environments. 

The calculated violence carried out by these Antifa cell members at Prairieland was an assault on law enforcement and an attack on the rule of law itself,” said Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella. “Nearly one year after this cowardly act, justice has prevailed. ICE will continue to stand firm against those who threaten our officers, our facilities and our mission.” The sentences follow a 12-day trial that began on Feb. 23, where jurors heard testimony from 46 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits supporting the charges against nine indicted defendants: Cameron Arnold, also known as Autumn Hill; Zachary Evetts; Benjamin Song; Savanna Batten; Bradford Morris, also known as Meagan Morris; Maricela Rueda; Elizabeth Soto; Ines Soto; and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. 

All were convicted. Ines Soto was granted a continuance and will be sentenced on July 1. Seven others, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas, pleaded guilty prior to trial to one count of providing material support to terrorists and they will be sentenced on July 1.  Testimony and other evidence at trial established that the defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa Cell, part of a larger militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to an ideology that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law.

An expert testifying in the government’s case told the jury that ANTIFA’s coordinated efforts involve obstructing Federal law through organized riots, violent assaults, and armed confrontations with law enforcement officers, increasingly targeting agents and facilities related to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in opposition to the agency’s deportation actions.   Evidence at trial revealed that most of the ANTIFA Cell involved in the Prairieland attack looked to Benjamin Song as a leader. Song acquired firearms that he distributed to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions he conducted, as well as from various ideologically aligned groups.

For example, defendants Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Savanna Batten were part of a group that created and distributed insurrectionary materials called “zines,” according to trial evidence. Trial testimony reflected that, late at night on July 4, 2025, at least eleven of the defendants rioted and attacked the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was using to house illegal aliens awaiting deportation.  The defendants dressed in “black bloc”—dark clothing with head and face coverings that concealed their identities—designed to hide each individual’s identity but also to aid and abet those members engaged in illegal acts by making members indistinguishable from one another to law enforcement. 

Evidence introduced at trial revealed that the defendants brought eleven firearms, body armor, and eleven military-grade first aid kits with tourniquets and other items to treat gunshot wounds to the scene of the attack.  Many of these items were introduced by the government as exhibits.  Additionally, DNA and fingerprint evidence linked many of the defendants to the items at the scene, and evidence obtained on phone locations supported that those who participated in the attack all turned off their phones or placed them in Faraday bags to prevent tracking on the night of the attack. After ANTIFA Cell members arrived at the detention facility, they began shooting off and throwing fireworks (explosives) at the facility and vandalizing vehicles and a guard shack on Prairieland property:

Source: Office of Public Affairs | Leader of Antifa Cell Members in North Texas Sentenced to 100 Years in Prison for Terrorist Attack on ICE Facility | United States Department of Justice

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:8

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Trump says U.S. killed Tren de Aragua leader in airstrike in Venezuela

dramatic fireball explosion in outdoor setting

The U.S. military has killed the alleged leader of Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua, President Trump announced Friday. The president said on Truth Social that U.S. Southern Command carried out a “swift and lethal kinetic strike” to “successfully execute” Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as Niño Guerrero. The mission was “closely coordinated” with the Venezuelan government, the president said, highligting the U.S.’s shifting relationship with Venezuela since its former leader was removed in an American military operation earlier this year. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X the strike took place earlier this week on a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s communications ministry confirmed in a statement that Guerrero Flores was killed in a “combined operation” between U.S. forces and Venezuelan security services to target organized crime in the country’s Bolívar state. Mr. Trump’s social media post included a video that showed a projectile hitting a building, causing it to erupt in flames. “Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong,” he wrote.

A video posted to Truth Social by President Trump on June 12, 2026, in connection with the killing of Tren de Aragua leader Niño Guerrero. President Trump / Truth Social In a statement on the strikes, U.S. Southern Command described Guerrero Flores, 43, as a “wanted fugitive.” He was indicted late last year in New York federal court on charges that included racketeering, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and cocaine conspiracy. The State Department offered up to $5 million for information leading to his capture. Also known as “The Unspeakable” or “The Big Eyebrow,” Guerrero Flores ran Tren de Aragua for more than a decade, helping to grow it from a Venezuelan prison gang to a transnational organization with a presence throughout the Americas, including in the United States, federal prosecutors say.

The indictment accused him of leading a criminal enterprise that trafficked drugs and people, extorted local populations and committed acts of violence. Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores U.S. Department of State Prosecutors allege that Guerrero Flores initially operated Tren de Aragua out of Tocorón Prison, directing gang members on the outside and collecting a fee from their activities. CBS News’ partner network, BBC News, reported that Guerrero Flores was in and out of Tocorón Prison for years: He escaped in 2012 and was rearrested a year later. He was sentenced to a 17-year prison term in 2018, but escaped again in 2023, remaining at large after that. Guerrero Flores lived “like a king” during part of his time in prison, BBC News reported. He occupied an entire floor monitored by bodyguards, and the prison had a swimming pool, a zoo and a nightclub. Last year’s indictment alleged the Venezuelan government allowed him to “control the day-to-day operations of the prison.”

The apparent collaboration between the American and Venezuelan governments to kill Guerrero Flores came five months after the U.S. military removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power in a daring nighttime raid.  Maduro was flown to New York, where federal prosecutors accused him of scheming to import cocaine into the United States, in part by allegedly partnering with Tren de Aragua and other cartels. The indictment against Maduro also charged Guerrero Flores as a co-conspirator. Maduro has pleaded not guilty. Since then, Venezuela has been led by Maduro’s former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez. The Trump administration has sought to work with Rodriguez’s government, lifting sanctions on her and pushing to collaborate on oil extraction.

Tren de Aragua has been in Mr. Trump’s crosshairs since he returned to the White House last year. He won a second term after frequently highlighting the gang’s violent presence in the United States — and, critics allege, exaggerating their power within some American communities — on the campaign trail in 2024. Mr. Trump argued the gang was fueled by a massive influx of Venezuelan nationals who traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border during the Biden administration, amid political and economic turmoil in Maduro’s Venezuela. Early last year, the Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua and other Latin American gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. The administration later cited those designations in its legal justification for striking dozens of alleged drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific last fall, arguing the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with the groups. Some of those boats were allegedly operated by Tren de Aragua.

The administration also invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 on Tren de Aragua in March 2025, accusing the group of working with the Maduro government to perpetrate an “invasion” of the United States. It drew controversy for using that law to summarily deport hundreds of Venezuelan men, many of whom were sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Some of the deportees denied that they were gang members, and some judges found the men were denied due process.

Source: Trump says U.S. killed Tren de Aragua leader in airstrike in Venezuela – CBS Minnesota

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

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Ransomware attack shuts down Evanston Township High School campus

a person holding a tablet device with skull image near blackboard

The FBI is investigating a cybersecurity at Evanston Township High School that has closed down the whole campus Monday morning. A ransomware attack is hitting the district’s phone lines, internet services and computers, and impacting the school’s emergency notification and public address systems. “Because these systems are not fully operational, we made the determination to cancel summer school classes and other on-campus activities until we can restore access to a point where we can safely run school,” said district spokesperson Reine Hanna.

A popup on the Evanston Township High School website announced that summer school, sports camps, and on-campus activities are canceled due to the ransomware attack that happened on Sunday. Hanna told CBS News Chicago that they have not yet received a money demand for the attack, but it’s “part of the investigation and response process.” “Because this happened in the summer months, the impact is substantially less than it would’ve been during the regular school year,” she said. She said the disruption means staff may have limited access to their email and student accounts may not work.

Phone systems are also unavailable. She said the breach is causing a major disruption for students and teachers that do need to access the school building, who will not be able to for at least two days. Staff members that were scheduled to come in to work Monday have been told to stay home and work remotely. A school spokesperson said their IT team discovered the breach. An email sent to parents, students and staff Sunday night assured the community that the hack is being handled. Cybersecurity attorneys and forensic experts are on the case, and the FBI is investigating. The district’s superintendent said the school is still working to figure out what information the hackers may have accessed, and said, “recovery efforts are under way.”

Source: Ransomware attack shuts down Evanston Township High School campus – CBS Chicago

Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Habakkuk 3:17-18

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Sacramento man found with explosive during airport security check charged in federal court

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A man has been charged with bringing an explosive device into Sacramento International Airport (SMF), federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, a criminal complaint was filed against 49-year-old Sacramento resident Kimani Osayande Jones, also known as Kimani Osayande Jackson, accusing him of unlawfully possessing explosive material in an airport.

Court documents state that around 9 p.m. on May 30, Jones attempted to pass through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at SMF to board a flight. Prosecutors said Jones was wearing a scarf covering his face and latex gloves. Investigators allege his carry-on bag contained an M-type explosive device, a torch lighter capable of igniting it, a knife, scissors and scissor blades, an aerosol can and zip ties. Authorities also said Jones was carrying five cellphones. One phone allegedly had a 15-minute timer ready to start, while another displayed a message from an unidentified number that read, “we will be awaiting your call.”

Source: Sacramento man found with explosive during airport security check charged in federal court – CBS Sacramento

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12

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FBI probe finds Austin bar shooter was “lone actor” in deadly March attack that killed 3

close up of barricade tape

The gunman who killed three people and wounded more than a dozen others in a mass shooting at a downtown Austin bar in March was a “lone actor” and there is no evidence he was supported or directed by a foreign terrorist group, FBI investigators said Thursday. The agency released a two-page update of its investigation into the attack on Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in the early morning hours of March 1 that ended when gunman, Ndiaga Diagne, was killed by police. The shooting happened after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. Diagne was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah.”

Despite lacking direct evidence of a motive for the shooting, investigators said Diagne was likely triggered into violent behavior by the war against Iran, “culminating in a violent, impulsive attack” at the bar, the report said. Investigators determined Diagne admired Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been killed. His affinity for Iran and its former leader were likely factors in the attack Diagne perpetrated on his own, investigators said. “The investigation to date indicates Diagne was a lone actor,” the report said. He had never been the subject of an FBI investigation prior to the shooting. Diagne, 53, was born in Senegal. He first entered the U.S. in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa and became a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying a U.S. citizen, according to the Department of Homeland Security. “There is no evidence at this time that he was associated with a Foreign Terrorist Organization or that he received any direction, funding, or operational support for his attack,” the report said.

The bar is located in the city’s popular hub of bars and nightclubs. Police said the gunman drove past the bar before circling back and firing the first shots from his SUV at people on the sidewalk and inside. He then parked, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking along the street before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him.

Source: FBI probe finds Austin bar shooter was “lone actor” in deadly March attack that killed 3 – CBS Texas

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

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Man gets life in prison for firebombing pro-Israel demonstrators in Colorado

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A man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty on Thursday to killing one person and injuring a dozen others in a 2025 firebombing attack on a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Mohamed Sabry Soliman looked down at a desk throughout the sentencing at the Boulder district court. He has meanwhile pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges for the attack last June. Prosecutors are weighing whether to seek the death penalty in the federal case, according to his attorneys.

An 82-year-old woman who was injured in the attack later died. A dozen others also were injured. Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the US without documentation. Investigators allege he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people”. Speaking to the court through an interpreter for nearly a half an hour, Soliman offered apologies to the victims and condolences for Diamond’s death. “There are no words that can express my sadness for her passing,” Soliman said. He said he wasn’t asking for leniency at sentencing for his convictions in state court and wanted prosecutors pressing federal hate crime charges against him to seek the death penalty. “If I went back, I would not have done this as this is not according to the teaching of Islam,” Soliman said. “What I did came out of myself and only myself.” In a statement read earlier in court by a prosecutor, Diamond’s sons asked that Soliman not be allowed to see his family again “since he is responsible for our mother never seeing her family again”.

Andrew and Ethan Diamond said their mother suffered “indescribable pain” for more than three weeks before her death. “In those weeks, we learned the full meaning of the expressions ‘living hell’ and ‘fate worse than death’,” Diamond’s sons said in the statement. Tara Winer, Boulder’s mayor pro tem, said the attack was horrific and victims included close friends. Soliman had been living with his family in a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs – about 97 miles (156km) away – at the time of the attack.

Source: Man gets life in prison for firebombing pro-Israel demonstrators in Colorado | Colorado | The Guardian

Judge not, that you be not judged.
Matthew 7:1

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Minnesota Dad self proclaims and thinks he’s the ‘voice of this generation’ of anti-ICE protesters then attacks a Turning Point USA journalist

Man grabbing woman on city sidewalk with concerned expression

This is radicalization at its finest. Just months before he was arrested for violently shoving a Turning Point USA reporter at an anti-ICE protest, Minnesota dad Chris Ostroushko spent his days like any stereotypical white, middle-aged American man: working in construction and watching football from his couch. Ostroushko had never thought to participate in any protests in his 50-something years — until out-of-control protesters and ICE agents clashed during a deadly demonstration in North Minneapolis on Jan. 14. 

Source: Minnesota dad became ‘voice of this generation’ of anti-ICE protesters — then attacked a Turning Point USA journo

The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem.
Proverbs 18:11

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