Five people pleaded guilty Wednesday to terrorism-related charges in connection with the July 4 shooting at an immigration detention center in Alvarado.
Joy Gibson, Lynette Sharp, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann and John Thomas pleaded guilty in Fort Worth federal court on one count of providing material support to terrorists. The terrorist act, the government says, was vandalism of the Prairieland Detention Center and a shooting that injured an Alvarado police officer who responded to the scene. A gunman also fired at two correctional officers, according to court records.
Ben Florey, Baumann's attorney, said his client is only pleading guilty to damaging property. Florey maintained Baumann had no intentions of violence on July 4 — something other defendants and their attorneys have said.
"He would admit that he painted some cars, and he already has," Florey said. "It was graffiti. And unfortunately, it was free speech until he damaged someone else's property."
All the defendants face up to 15 years in prison and will be sentenced in March. Attorneys for Thomas and Sharp declined to comment. Attorneys for Gibson and Sikes were not immediately available for comment.
Nine defendants have been federally indicted on charges that include attempted murder of a federal office, and at least two have pleaded not guilty. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced the indictments and guilty pleas Friday, which came after prosecutors said they planned to further indict those who didn't accept the government's plea deal.
Gibson, 30, is the girlfriend of Benjamin Song, the alleged shooter in the case, according to court records. Gibson was part of planning in the days leading up to July 4 and carpooled to the demonstration with other defendants. She and others were arrested near Prairieland wearing "black, military-style clothing," according to the original complaint.
Sikes, 22, told authorities he had seen a flyer for the demonstration in a Discord chat and drove to Prairieland by himself, according to criminal complaints. He also said he didn't know anyone else at the detention center and only thought they'd be setting off fireworks. He was arrested with a handgun and a broken-down AR-15-style rifle.
Baumann, 20, traveled to Prairieland alone from College Station and brought spray paint. He and another defendant were accused of spray painting a guard structure and damaging vehicles — some of which also had graffiti — in the detention center's parking lot. He was arrested at the scene.
Sharp, 57, and Thomas, 32, were involved in pre-July 4 planning and helped Song escape from Prairieland after Song had been hiding out in a sunflower field overnight following the shooting, according to court records. Thomas was allegedly roommates with Song and Gibson. Thomas and Sharp were arrested more than a week after the shooting.
A sixth defendant, Rebecca Morgan, is expected to plead guilty to providing material support to terrorists Monday. Kent was indicted alongside those who entered their pleas Wednesday but hasn't entered a federal plea.
Prosecutors allege the 18 total defendants in the case are part of a so-called "North Texas Antifa Cell."
The government describes "antifa" — short for anti-fascist — as a militant network of individuals and small groups that ascribe to "revolutionary anarchist or autonomous Marxist ideology, which explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law."
The indictments came after President Donald Trump designated antifa a domestic terrorist organization, blaming it for other high-profile instances of political violence this year. That designation's been questioned, given there is no official mechanism to designate domestic threats and that antifa is a decentralized movement with no formal organization.
Florey said he doesn't recognize the existence of such a cell and said Baumann isn't aligned with antifa. Rather, Florey said, Baumann was supporting ICE detainees amid the federal government's heightened immigration enforcement since Trump took office.
"That was my client's intent, was to show support," Florey said.
Patrick McLain, an attorney for Zachary Evetts — one of the defendants who has pleaded not guilty — echoed those sentiments in an email to KERA News.
"Mr. Evetts has never been a member of anything like a 'North Texas Antifa Cell,' and from the evidence provided to us by the government so far, there is no evidence that such an organization ever existed," McLain said.
Benjamin Song, Autumn Hill, Meagan Morris, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, Ines Soto, Maricela Rueda and Savanna Batten are tentatively expected to enter their pleas in Fort Worth federal court Dec. 3.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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