Another person has been arrested in connection with the July 4 shooting at an immigration detention center in Alvarado, bringing the total arrest count to 18, according to a support committee for the defendants.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office arrested Janette Goering of Carrollton Tuesday on a state charge of aiding in the commission of terrorism, according to county jail records. Her bond is set at $5 million.
It's unclear the exact role Goering is accused of playing in the nonfatal shooting of an Alvarado police officer — who has since recovered — at the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Prairieland Detention Center. No attorney is currently listed for Goering in county court records.
"It's unbelievable that more than three months later the state is still trying to widen the net in this case," a spokesperson for the DFW Support Committee, a group of the defendants’ family and loved ones, said in a release. "They’re attempting to prosecute this as an 'Antifa' case in order to terrorize the movement in solidarity with immigrants, but it’s not going to work."
It comes a week after a grand jury in Fort Worth handed down the first federal indictments for Autumn Hill, Zachary Evetts and Daniel Sanchez Estrada, some of the first arrested in connection with the shooting. All have pleaded not guilty to their charges.
Hill and Evetts — indicted together on charges of providing material support to terrorists, attempted murder and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence — have a trial set for Nov. 24. Sanchez Estrada, indicted for concealing a document or record and conspiracy to conceal documents, is set for trial Dec. 1.
Fifteen defendants total have been indicted on state charges that include aggravated assault of a public servant with a deadly weapon, terrorism, engaging in organized criminal activity by smuggling persons and hindering the prosecution of terrorism.
Court documents unsealed in July allege about 11 people gathered at the Prairieland Detention Center dressed in all black and shot fireworks towards the building before correctional officers inside called 911.
When Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross arrived at the scene minutes later, several people began to flee on foot and ignore verbal commands, according to the most recent criminal complaint. During preliminary hearings last month, prosecutors showed Gross' body camera footage in court, alleging someone could be heard saying, "get to the rifles" as Gross shouted at them to stop.
That’s when a person in the woods wearing a green mask opened fire, hitting Gross in the neck, according to court records. Gross fired three rounds in response.
Eleven people were arrested that night and in the following days. The FBI arrested Benjamin Song, who owned several firearms found in connection with the shooting, after a weeklong manhunt. Both prosecutors and codefendants point to Song as the shooter.
Since then, authorities have arrested five people charged as accessories to the July 4 shooting by allegedly being involved in the planning and helping Song escape.
Prosecutors so far have tied the defendants’ terrorism charges to their alleged association with “antifa.” Short for anti-fascist, antifa is a decentralized left-wing movement that advocates against far-right ideology and authoritarianism.
Justice Department attorney Shawn Smith and FBI Special Agent Clark Wiethorn argued in court that group chats planning the July 4 gathering, weapons found at the scene, tactical gear, gunshot residue and anti-government posters and literature made by some defendants show evidence of a “coordinated attack” motivated by the group’s anti-government, anti-law enforcement and anti-immigration enforcement beliefs.
"All in the support of an attack on this facility where they truly believe these aliens are political prisoners," Smith said in court.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in late September designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization,” the first designation of its kind in history. In a subsequent order, Trump directed the FBI’s terrorism task force and other authorities to investigate antifa as a domestic terrorism threat, specifically citing right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination and a shooting at the ICE field office in Dallas that left two immigration detainees dead.
Those arrested, their attorneys and their supporters have said the defendants intended only to protest against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and they allege they’re being politically targeted for their First Amendment-protected activity.
"This seems like a coordinated political campaign," Stephanie Shiver, defendant Meagan Morris’ wife, said in a release. "The feds didn't do anything for months and then they bring everyone into court just days after Trump designated 'Antifa' a priority threat."
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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