A woman arrested in connection with a nonfatal July 4 shooting at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado was accused of providing supplies to the alleged shooter and participating in pre- and post-shooting planning, according to court records.
Carrollton resident Janette Goering, 35, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aiding in the commission of terrorism, a state charge and a first degree felony. Goering is currently in the Johnson County Jail on a $5 million bond.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office alleged Goering participated in group chat exchanges with other defendants through the encrypted messaging app Signal before and after the shooting.
The complaint also alleged Goering gave the accused shooter, Benjamin Song, a Faraday bag he used at Prairieland Detention Center. Faraday bags are used to block devices like phones from giving or receiving electromagnetic signals, preventing them from being tracked.
Giving Song the bag constitutes providing "material support" to terrorism, according to the complaint — in this case, the “antifa” ideology, which President Donald Trump designated a domestic terrorist organization last month.
"I know that individuals who affiliate with 'ANTIFA' ideology have or are willing to engage in acts of violence to affect a political change or influence governmental operation," Detective William Reilly with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office wrote in the complaint.
Short for anti-fascist, antifa is an ideology that is generally anti-government and opposes the far right and authoritarianism. Despite Trump’s designation, there is no centralized entity under the antifa name.
Authorities allege it was those anti-law enforcement and anti-immigration enforcement beliefs and affiliation with the Socialist Rifle Association that motivated roughly 11 people to gather at Prairieland the night of July 4, shooting fireworks toward the building and vandalizing cars, prompting correctional officers at the facility to call 911, court records say.
Prosecutors and other defendants allege it was Song who shot the responding Alvarado police officer in the neck and fired at two correctional officers. The Alvarado officer has since recovered from his injuries and is back to work.
Some of those arrested, their attorneys and their supporters have said the defendants intended only to protest against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and say they’re being politically targeted for First Amendment-protected activity.
"This is an effort to criminalize dissent," Irina Popova, a member of a group supporting the defendants, told KERA. "The state's claims on this case are absurd and unfounded, and this is clearly a scare tactic for anyone who wants to resist ICE kidnappings on the street and the rising authoritarianism."
Investigators later learned Song — who was not arrested until more than a week after the shooting — had been hiding out in a sunflower field near Prairieland for nearly 24 hours, according to the criminal complaint.
While Song and 11 others were arrested at the scene relatively soon after the incident, authorities have since arrested seven more people in the following months for being accessories to the shooting, including Goering.
That also includes John Phillip Thomas, who was accused of picking Song up and bringing him to Dallas with the help of Lynette Sharp; Rebecca Morgan, whose apartment Song allegedly used to hide from police; and Susan Kent.
Goering, the complaint alleges, was part of a group that met at a gas station in Cleburne the day after the shooting to coordinate getting Song away from Prairieland.
The complaint includes excerpts of Signal chat messages purportedly written by Goering leading up to the shooting — asking if they were still doing "the people's 4th" under the monikers "biscuit" and "Marie." Song allegedly thanked Marie for the bag in a message July 6, but Goering seemed to express fear about the Faraday bag being tied to her.
"On a personal level, I'm terrified at what me doing the faraday stuff might do to me re: police questioning," the user wrote. "And I don't want to join then immediately get pulled into questioning or worse."
A total of 18 people have been arrested in connection with the shooting and face a mix of federal and state charges. Two defendants indicted together on charges of providing material support to terrorists, attempted murder and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence are set for trial Nov. 24.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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