By JAMIE STENGLE
DALLAS (AP) — Federal prosecutors told jurors Tuesday that a shooting outside a Texas immigration detention center last year was carried out by members of antifa, opening a closely watched trial that lawyers for the accused say seeks to wrongly punish a group of political demonstrators.
Nine people have pleaded not guilty over their alleged involvement in what prosecutors called an attack on the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas last July, when a police officer was shot in the neck and wounded.
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Lawyers for the defendants say the accused were not members of antifa and were instead taking part in a “noise demonstration” that included fireworks on July 4, 2025, to show support for immigrants inside the center.
“Make no mistake, there’s nothing peaceful about what happened on July Fourth,” prosecutor Shawn Smith told jurors.
The trial is expected to last upward of three weeks. Several defendants face up to live in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment, a group of people clad in black and wearing masks, some carrying firearms and wearing body armor, shot fireworks toward the center and vandalized vehicles and a guard shed. Then, as local officers responded, one person yelled, “get to the rifles” and opened fire, striking the officer, the indictment said.
Smith said that while it was defendant Benjamin Song who opened fire, several other defendants are also charged with attempted murder of a law officer and discharging a firearm because it was foreseeable from the group’s planning that that could happen. Song’s attorney did not give an opening statement Tuesday.
The officer who was shot, Alvarado police Lt. Thomas Gross, was the first witness to testify Tuesday. He said he was responding at about 11 p.m. to a call from the detention center when he saw that there was graffiti on a guard shed and a stop sign and noticed a guard chasing a person clad in black with their face covered.
Department of Homeland Security officers stand outside the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Susan Oakey holds a sign across the street from the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse during a trial for nine people connected to a 2025 shooting outside an ICE detention facility Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Department of Homeland Security officers patrol outside the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Susan Oakey holds a sign across the street from the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse during a trial for nine people connected to a 2025 shooting outside an ICE detention facility Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Show Caption1 of 4Department of Homeland Security officers stand outside the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero) ExpandGross said he got out of his vehicle and saw another person, also clad in black with their face covered and carrying a rifle.
“At this point the scene is becoming extremely chaotic,” he said.
He told jurors he was shot with a round that went into his shoulder and out of his neck.
Defense attorneys told jurors that their clients could only be judged for their own individual actions. “It’s a trial within a trial,” said attorney Chris Tolbert, who is representing Savanna Batten.
He said his client didn’t bring a firearm, spray paint or fireworks to the center. He said that while the government claims that her book club — named for the anarchist Emma Goldman — is a recruiting ground for antifa, it’s just a book club.
“She’s not a member of antifa, she’s not providing material support to terrorists,” Tolbert said.
Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations. FBI Director Kash Patel has said the charges in Texas are the first time a material support to terrorism charge has targeted people he said were antifa members.
James Luster, the attorney for defendant Autumn Hill, said Hill has a deep conviction for people she feels are marginalized, including immigrants. Luster said that after watching fireworks being shot into the sky, Hill left before the police arrived.
“It was never supposed to come to this,” Luster said.
Several people have already pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists after being accused of supporting antifa related to the July 4 shooting. They face up to 15 years in prison at sentencing.
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