Families protest sentencing in Prairieland ICE case: ‘A bleak day for justice’
As seven defendants received their sentences Wednesday for their roles in a July 4, 2025, protest that ended in a shooting at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center, their families gathered at the courthouse to deliver statements on behalf of their loved ones.
More than 20 people gathered outside the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth, where posters featuring photos and sketches of defendants were lined up.
Estevan Soto, son of Ines and Elizabeth Soto, was one of a few people who read statements on behalf of their family members at the press conference.
Ines and Elizabeth Soto were sentenced to 50 years each. Both were convicted at a trial in March when a jury found them guilty of rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and using and carrying explosives during a riot.
“My crimes have been made clear by the prosecution: They don’t want people like me to have access to these constitutionally protected and invaluable resources. This is an attempt at silencing dissent, at creating fear amongst its citizens to ensure no one speaks against this current administration,” Estevan Soto read in a statement from his mother, Elizabeth.
“We are living through a moment in time that will affect everyone in the future,” Elizabeth’s statement continued. “If this conviction is allowed to stand, it will affect countless others.”
Estevan Soto then read a statement from his father, Ines Soto, who declined to speak during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday. “The weight of the sentences that have been handed down is crushing, but we should not be surprised,” he said.
“The government has shown it is willing to separate loved ones across borders, cage people in squalid detention centers, bring violence into loving neighborhoods, and gun people down in the streets,” Estevan Soto read out loud, sharing his father’s statement. “Their attempts to bury people in their prisons falls right in line with these horrible acts. Migrants, immigrants, and those acting in solidarity with them must be honest about the reality we face. It is only through our collective efforts that we will get through this. I trust that everyone will find ways to contribute to and expand these efforts how they can.”
Other defendants sentenced Wednesday included Rebecca Morgan, Joy Gibson, Nathan Baumann, John Thomas, Lynette Sharp and Seth Sikes, with sentences ranging from 22 months to 15 years.
Prosecutors have described the case as the first domestic terrorism trial to lead to convictions of alleged antifa cell members. The defendants denied having connections to antifa and argued they went to the ICE facility for a peaceful protest and noise demonstration.
Family, friends, community leaders share thoughts on case
Hope Song, mother of defendant Benjamin Song, who was found guilty of attempted murder in the shooting that wounded Alvarado police Lt. Thomas Gross, and received the longest sentence at 100 years, was one of the speakers Wednesday morning.
“I’m not here today to read a statement or give my opinion on anything,” Hope Song said. “I’m here just to tell you simply that this case was built on utter lies. The one person that was responsible for all of the damage to the Prairieland facility got one year and 10 months, because he lied the best.”
Benjamin Song was one of eight defendants sentenced on June 23. At his sentencing hearing, he said that he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and that he fired his rifle when he saw the police officer aiming a gun at the back of a fellow protester who was running away.
Evidence introduced at trial showed that prior to the shooting, the defendants threw fireworks at the ICE facility and vandalized vehicles and a guard shack, prosecutors said.
During Wednesday’s sentencing when asked by Judge Reed O’Connor, defendant Joy Gibson said yes to sharing a message. After a discussion with their attorney, Gibson kept their message short and expressed love for their partner, Benjamin Song, and family, friends and humanity.
“There was more that they wanted to say, but they were advised by their lawyers to keep quiet,” a close friend of Gibson’s, Hannah, said at the press conference. “So this is what they wanted me to also say on their behalf: Voiceless, say less, say nothing at all, you wouldn’t want the truth to anger the monster that ate your family.”
While most of the defendants who were sentenced Wednesday entered plea agreements, others who were convicted at trial are appealing their cases, their supporters said.
Yafeuh Balogun from Community Movement Builders said, “I want to say that protesting against ICE in their facilities is not a crime.”
“This may be a bleak day for justice, but DSA Fort Worth stands in solidarity with the Prairieland defendants, and we will not stop until they are all free,” said another speaker at Wednesday’s press conference identified as Elliot, political education coordinator of Democratic Socialists of America in Fort Worth.