The last defendant facing federal charges in connection with last year's Prairieland ICE detention center shooting was sentenced to six years in prison Monday.
It comes just two days after the anniversary of an event that made national headlines as the first case of the Trump administration targeting "antifa" as domestic terrorism in federal court.
Susan Kent, 24, was part of a group that met at a hotel in Cleburne to plan getting Benjamin Song away from the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado. Song was convicted in March for nonfatally shooting an Alvarado police officer outside Prairieland the night of July 4, 2025. He hid out in a sunflower field until the next day.
Kent cooperated with prosecutors and testified at trial that she met Song through the Socialist Rifle Association, a left-wing firearm club. Kent said other defendants were part of an "antifa" cell.
KERA News reached out to Kent's attorney for comment and will update this story with any response.
Antifa — short for "anti-fascist" — is an ideology, not a single organization of which one can be a part. For some, it’s become an umbrella term for far-left-wing beliefs like anarchism, socialism or communism. It’s also been associated with anti-Trump and anti-ICE beliefs in recent years. President Donald Trump designated the ideology a domestic terror threat in September.
Kent testified she wasn't an anti-fascist, she said, but a libertarian who believed U.S. immigration policies needed reform.
Kent also testified she went to a "gear check" at the home of defendants Autumn Hill and Meagan Morris' home in Dallas July 3, 2025. There, she said, Song had the group review photos of Prairieland. The group decided to bring guns to the detention center but find nonviolent ways to protest, she said.
Kent and six others pleaded guilty in November to one count of providing material support to terrorism. The charge of providing material support to terrorism is not necessarily related to being part of a terrorist organization or having any particular set of beliefs.
Defendants who pleaded guilty received sentences of up to 15 years in prison. Kent faces the same prison time as her then-partner, Seth Sikes, who was at Prairieland the night of the shooting and also pleaded guilty.
Song was sentenced to 100 years in prison for attempted murder, providing material support to terrorism and other lesser charges. Other defendants who went to Prairieland and were convicted during trial face up to 70 years in prison.
Kent's sentence marks the end of proceedings in the case in federal district court. All trial defendants have filed notices they'll appeal their convictions to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, court records show.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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