Inside the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse in Fort Worth Tuesday, jury selection was underway in the trial of nine people charged in connection with a nonfatal July 4 shooting outside the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado.
Outside the courthouse, family, friends and other supporters gathered in solidarity with the defendants, carrying signs amid chants of "free them all."
"I always tell everyone my sister, Savanna is sunshine in human form," Amber Lowrey, sister of defendant Savanna Batten, said through tears. "Everything she does is to improve someone else's life."
Prosecutors say 11 people started shooting fireworks toward the ICE facility the night of July 4. Correctional officers called 911, and Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross arrived minutes later.
That's when federal prosecutors say someone in a green mask fired at Gross and the correctional officers from the woods. Court documents alternately allege Gross was shot in the neck or back. He was later treated at a local hospital and released.
Ten people were arrested in the following days, while an 11th person was on the run for more than a week. Since then, nine more people have been arrested for allegedly helping the 11th defendant, Benjamin Song, evade arrest. Some of the defendants and their lawyers have pointed to Song as the shooter and a lone actor.
The nine people on trial this week are Song, Autumn Hill, Maricela Rueda, Meagan Morris, Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, Savanna Batten, Daniel Sanchez Estrada and Zachary Evetts.
The government has labeled the group a "North Texas Antifa Cell." "Antifa" is short for anti-fascist. The government describes antifa in court records as a network of groups that support anarchist or Marxist ideology and are anti-government and anti-ICE.
Trump last September declared antifa a domestic terrorist organization after a year of other incidents of political violence that some politicians blamed on "left-wing violence." But antifa is not a formal organization with official members or leaders. There's no federal criminal statute to charge people for domestic terrorism like there is for foreign terrorism.
"My first question is, 'antifa, where are you?'", said George Lobb, an attorney defending Maricela Rueda against state charges. "Which office are they in, or which hole or which bunker, or which car do they drive? It's a buzzword to label people to justify political persecution and violation."
The defendants' support committee also used their press conference Tuesday to raise awareness about mistreatment within ICE detention centers.
"These protesters did not go to Prairieland to harm anyone," said Lowrey, Batten's sister. "They went to give people a glimmer of hope who have none. They went let them know that someone cares, that people still care, that they have not been forgotten."
Politicians and Trump critics have documented neglect and other poor conditions inside ICE detention centers across the country.
Last week, a Palestinian woman from New Jersey in ICE custody at the Prairieland Detention Center was hospitalized. Leqaa Kordia was taken to the Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Burleson after having a seizure at the Prairieland facility, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.
Kordia has been in ICE custody since last March in New Jersey for allegedly overstaying her visa. She was later transported to Alvarado after first being arrested during a 2024 protest at Columbia University against Israel’s war in Gaza.
At least 32 people have died in ICE custody since January 2025 after President Donald Trump took office, according to DHS.
The Trump administration's immigration crackdowns have led to anti-ICE protests, student walkouts and condemnation from some government officials. A recent poll shows 65% of Americans believe ICE agents have "gone too far."
Stephanie Shiver, wife of defendant Meagan Morris told KERA News Morris is "an innocent person in a tragic situation."
"I hope people recognize what a vast overreach of the government this is, that if something happens and you're at a protest, the government can declare you a domestic terrorist and throw ten charges on you and lock you in jail now," Shiver said.
Additional reporting by Toluwani Osibamowo.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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