Both sides rested their cases Tuesday in the Prairieland ICE detention center shooting trial after prosecutors put forward their final witnesses and evidence — and the defendants put forward none.
The government has sought to prove in two weeks of trial the nine defendants share an anti-fascist, anti-ICE and anti-government ideology also known as “antifa” that motivated them to play a role in the nonfatal shooting of a police officer outside an ICE detention facility in Alvarado July 4.
The evidence to that effect has included literature the defendants owned described as insurrectionary and anarchist, the defendants’ group messages on encrypted messaging app Signal that allegedly detailed planning before and after the protest, and the testimony of defendants who took plea deals with the government.
Defendants on trial allege the event was meant to be a noise demonstration with fireworks in support of those inside Prairieland, and violence was never the intention. They’ve asserted throughout trial that antifa is an ideology, not an organization of which they were a part.
But they chose not to put forth any evidence or witnesses to make their point.
Attorney Ben Florey — whose client pleaded guilty in the case and is not on trial — said that’s not surprising. The defense attorneys made their arguments through cross-examination of the government’s witnesses, Florey said, and they made some progress.
“To put their witnesses, their clients on the witness stand would open them up for cross-examination by the government,” he said. “They decided that's not a good idea.”
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman expects the Fort Worth federal jury to begin deliberating later this week after it hears closing arguments and the jury charge Wednesday.
The judge said he’d consider exactly what the jury charge will say. Despite the case being referred to as the first terrorism charges brought against “antifa,” the word itself is only used once in the government’s 91-page proposed jury charge — the instruction given to the jurors during deliberation.
At one point, Pittman questioned whether the word needed to be in the jury charge at all. There's no federal criminal statute to charge people for domestic terrorism like there is for foreign terrorism, according to legal experts, and the government doesn’t have to prove antifa is an established terrorist organization to bring its charges.
“Whether it’s antifa or the Methodist Women’s Auxiliary of Weatherford, why does it matter?” Pittman asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith.
The prosecutor responded that tactics commonly used by antifa-affiliated individuals were a key part of providing material support to terrorists, a charge all except one defendant face.
Final ‘antifa’ evidence
Prosecutors closed out their case with testimony from their expert witness on antifa: Kyle Shideler, director and senior analyst of homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy.
The terrorism think tank, known for putting out content that targets Muslims and Islam, has been called a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Shideler disputed that designation when questioned by the defense.
Shideler said he began studying antifa more heavily in 2020. He authored a memo on how President Donald Trump’s administration can crack down on far-left extremists and later testified in Congress on the topic after Trump issued an executive order designating antifa as a domestic terror threat.
“Antifa,” Shideler testified, is short for “Antifaschistische Aktion,” or “anti-fascist action” in German. It was the name of a far-left organization in World War II Germany that Shideler said opposed not only the Nazi party, but center-right and center-left individuals and movements.
The group’s beliefs eventually gained traction in the U.S. with the rising popularity of punk rock music in the 1990s, Shideler said. Organizations like Anti-Racist Action, which became the Torch Network, adopted antifascist beliefs and practices.
The government and cooperating witnesses have said the defendants on trial had a variety of different leftist beliefs, like anarchism, Marxism and communism. But Shideler said people with varying far-left views can still operate under the antifa front.
The insurrectionary, anti-police and anti-ICE zines the defendants owned, their use of “black bloc” — all black clothing and masks meant to hide one’s identity — their anti-government animus, clandestine operations and opposition to fellow protesters who encourage peace are characteristic of antifa, Shideler testified, especially in light of the events of July 4.
“Everything they did that night was consistent with a noise demonstration up until the rifles,” he said.
Defense attorneys objected several times to Shideler testifying as an expert to no avail. Shideler has only obtained a bachelor’s degree, works for a political organization — not an academic one — and said he advised the government about its language on antifa in the indictment, the attorneys argued during cross examination.
Patrick McLain, defendant Zachary Evetts’ attorney, seemed to mock what he called Shideler’s lack of expertise, pointing out that Shideler’s publications aren’t peer reviewed and don’t employ statistical analysis like academic papers.
“Let me try to put it in lay terms,” McLain said at one point when questioning Shideler.
Autumn Hill’s attorney Cody Cofer took a sarcastic tone after Shideler testified that he relies on open-source information for his research, or information that’s publicly available and not classified.
Cofer also asked Shideler whether he hoped his expert witness testimony — the first he’s ever done — would help his career.
“I guess it will depend how this goes,” Shideler replied.
Pittman tried, however, to keep both sides on a tight leash when it came to cross-examination. The judge warned defense attorneys not to be argumentative and directly asked Shideler questions when the witness gave roundabout answers.
“There’s no need to spar over simple stuff,” Pittman told Shideler.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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