Prosecutors Are Trying To Criminalize All-Black Clothing In Texas Case Against So-Called ‘Antifa Cell’

Under the MAGA regime, we are officially charging U.S. citizens with crimes based on right-wing delusion. Antifa is still a loose ideology, not an organization, but that hasn’t stopped propaganda-inspired prosecutors from arguing that nine protesters accused of engaging in an “ambush” attack on a North Texas ICE detention facility are part of an Antifa terrorist cell while providing no unambiguous evidence that the defendants even identify as Antifa. And they appear to be claiming that things as mundane as the color of protesters’ clothing indicate that they are a terror cell.

Wearing all black? Well, you must be a terrorist — an Antifa terrorist, to be specific.

According to Fox 4, the nine defendants in this case — Daniel Estrada, Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, Maricela Rueda, Bradford Morris, Savanna Batten, Benjamin Song, Zachary Evetts, and Cameron Arnold — are each facing a slew of charges related to the events that happened outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4, 2025.

Authorities say protesters set off fireworks, vandalized buildings nad federal vehicles, and that one man, Song, opened fire on agents, an act prosecutors are attempting to hold all nine defendants responsible for.

From Fox 4:

Prosecutors contend the attack was an ambush orchestrated by Song. They have tried to prove that he and the other co-defendants are members of what they describe as a North Texas Antifa cell. The case is the first federal indictment in the nation tied to alleged Antifa-related domestic terrorism charges.

Song is also facing an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting Lt. Gross. Prosecutors said he hid in the woods for a night after the violence and was captured roughly a week later.

Defense attorneys have argued there was no ambush. They maintain that the defendants never intended any violence to occur. Instead, they planned to engage in a “peaceful noise protest” to show support for the immigration detainees.

Because there are nine defendants, the closing arguments lasted for several hours on Wednesday and didn’t conclude until 7:30 p.m.

Federal prosecutors were allowed to talk for 75 minutes, and then each of the nine defense teams had 15 minutes to address the jury. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith reminded jurors that the defendants wore all-black clothing.

“Why hide yourself? Why are you bringing weapons? There was no evidence of counter-protesters. Rifles, pistols, radios, first aid kits – why do you bring that stuff to a peaceful protest?” he asked.

It’s interesting that, in a state where the Second Amendment is held as sacred, prosecutors who appear to be pretty conservative are questioning why civilians are armed. It’s also interesting that Smith appears to be suggesting that counter-protesters are all protesters have to fear, despite a wealth of evidence that federal agents are routinely escalating unrest into violence during anti-ICE protests across the country, and then lying about what happened.

And is he really asking about first-aid kits? Really?

Anyway, prosecutors contend that the other eight defendants somehow knew what Song was going to do, and that the demonstration was all part of Song’s plan.

“This was Song’s plan to create a confrontation, and he used his inner circle to pull it off,” Smith said. “Song said it three times. ‘I’m not going to jail.’ Everybody in that group chat knew what he was capable of and what he wanted to do.”

Defense attorney for Elizabeth Soto had a different take.

“The government is trying to put protestors in prison for being terrorists, something that hasn’t happened before,” she said.

She appears to be correct. In fact, not only are prosecutors trying to cite Black clothing as evidence of Antifa terrorism, but they have also pointed to what they consider to be radical pamphlets allegedly distributed by protesters.

From the Intercept:

During 10 days of testimony in a packed Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom, prosecutors bombarded jurors with images of radical zines printed on the press, anti-government internet memes, drawings of burning cop cars, and a video of an unidentified street brawl between far-left and far-right protesters.

Prosecutors acknowledged those materials were protected by the First Amendment but said they showed the roughly dozen people who assembled outside the ICE facility were steeped in antifa tactics.

Eight of nine defendants on trial this month face material support for terrorism charges for wearing “black bloc” clothes at the protest. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have hailed the first-ever use of terrorism charges against alleged antifa members.

Defense attorneys argued Wednesday that prosecutors had wildly overcharged a case that should have centered on the alleged shooter, Benjamin Song, instead of the larger group.

One person, and one person only, is accused of firing shots at agents, but the others wore Black and had reading materials anti-anti-fascists didn’t like — so, obviously, they’re all Antifa and all guilty of attempted murder, right?

Mind you, the entire Antifa angle stems from President Donald Trump’s vow to label Antifa a “major terrorist organization,” which ignores  all the federal authorities, including former Trump-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray, who stated in 2020, while testifying to Congress, that Antifa is “not a group or an organization,” but “a movement or an ideology.”

This is the same administration that laughably claimed to have in custody the unnamed girlfriend of the unnamed founder of Antifa, people who still haven’t been publicly identified in a supposed case the public has never heard anything about since the announcement of the (probably fictional) arrests.

This is also the same administration that has claimed Antifa is the U.S.’s greatest domestic terror threat, but was unable to answer even the most basic questions regarding information on the so-called organization.

As for the case in Texas, both the prosecution and defense have rested, and the jury is still deliberating. We will update the story as more information becomes available.

SEE ALSO:

What Is Antifa And Are They Really A ‘Terrorist Organization?’

Antifa And Terrorism 101 With Intelligence Expert Malcolm Nance

Judge Declares Mistrial In Case Against Texas Anti-ICE Protesters