5 plead guilty to aiding terrorists in connection to Alvarado ICE shooting
Five suspects pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday morning to charges related to the July 4 shooting of a North Texas police officer outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Alvarado.
The defendants — Nathan Baumann, 20; Seth Sikes, 22; Joy Gibson, 30; John Thomas, 32; and Lynette Sharp, 57 — face up to 15 years in federal prison as part of their plea deal.
The five appeared in the Fort Worth federal courtroom with shackles on their wrists and feet and dressed in prison uniforms, Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported. Each of them affirmed they were voluntarily waiving their right to a trial before pleading guilty to the charge of providing material support to terrorists.
Nine individuals have been indicted in connection with the July 4 attack. Seven other suspects, including the five who pleaded guilty at Wednesday’s hearing, were charged in the case “by information,” according to the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Government officials have accused the defendants of belonging to an “Antifa cell.”
“The defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa Cell, part of a larger militant enterprise ... that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law,” the statement reads in part.
“Antifa,” short for anti-fascist, is a term that refers generally to far-left leaning militia groups and not to a single entity, according to the Associated Press.
Federal prosecutors have been offering early plea deals to the suspects, according to a news release Monday from a group of the defendants’ supporters, called the DFW Support Committee.
“A number of defendants could plead guilty in the coming days as a result of pressure by the federal government,” the committee’s release states. “The terms of the plea agreements have not been made public, but some defendants are refusing to cooperate against their codefendants.”
Around 10:37 p.m. on July 4, about 12 people started shooting fireworks at the ICE detention facility, located in the 1200 block of Sunflower Lane, according to an unsealed criminal complaint. About 10 minutes later, one or two members of the group broke off to spray-paint vehicles and a guard booth with anti-ICE slogans.
Two ICE corrections officers came out of the facility around 10:58 p.m. shortly after calling 911. The bullets started flying about a minute later, after the Alvarado police officer arrived, according to the complaint. One of the police officers was treated for a neck wound and released after being airlifted to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, authorities.
Investigators recovered an AR-style rifle near the location of the suspected shooter, which had apparently jammed, according to court documents.
The sentencing for the five defendants who pleaded guilty at Wednesday’s hearing is scheduled for March 12, 2026.
