Two people charged in connection with a shooting outside a North Texas immigration detention facility were previously arrested on protest-related charges, court records show.
Savanna Batten and Ines Soto were among 11 people arrested after federal officials say someone opened fire and shot a police officer in the neck outside Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado during the late hours of July 4, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
Batten, 31, was previously arrested at an “Occupy Dallas” protest at a Chase Bank in Dallas in 2011, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. It was part of the broader Occupy Wall Street movement protesting economic inequality.
The document states Batten blocked patrons from entering or leaving the bank by sitting on the property and locking arms with accomplices. The group allegedly leaned up against the bank doors, locking patrons inside. A bank employee and a police officer who witnessed the incident warned the group to leave, but they refused, according to the affidavit.
Batten was charged with criminal trespass, a Class B misdemeanor. She agreed to 24 hours of community service, after which the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case.
In 2018, Batten was one of five people arrested after Dallas police said she and other protesters blocked a highway service road and one man sat down in traffic.
Police responded to the protest on June 30, 2018, where as many as 80 people stood outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas on Interstate 35E, protesting to “abolish ICE.”
Dallas police said the protest started peacefully before demonstrators blocked off lanes of the service road to I-35E.
Officers said protestors refused to move when asked, leading to the arrest of five people, including Batten.
Batten was charged with obstructing a highway, but the charge was dropped in 2019 after she completed a pretrial diversion program, according to court records.
Soto, a 40-year-old from Fort Worth, was one of two people arrested at a protest in 2016 against white supremacist Richard Spencer ahead of Spencer's speech at Texas A&M University.
The arrest report stated a group of five people, including Soto, allegedly attempted to enter the Memorial Student Center where Spencer was speaking, according to the website My Aggie Nation. Soto allegedly started to yell and was uncooperative with the officer.
While Soto was being handcuffed, the four other people in the group tried to interfere, and one allegedly hit the officer in the face.
Soto was charged with evading arrest or detention and resisting arrest, according to Brazos County jail records. He got out on a $10,000 bond.
KERA News attempted to reach Batten by phone and at her home Wednesday night, as well as through her previous attorney. Soto could not be reached by phone and appeared to no longer live at a listed address. No current or past attorney is listed for Soto on court websites.
Eleven people were charged this week with three counts of attempted murder of a federal agent and three counts of discharging a firearm during a violent act, according to court records. An 11th person was charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy, according to federal officials.
The most recent was former Marine Corps reservist Benjamin Hanil Song, who was charged Wednesday night with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm during a violent act. He's accused of buying four of the guns found in connection with the shooting, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for North Texas.
In addition to Song, Batten and Soto, the others arrested for attempted murder were identified as Autumn Hill, Nathan Baumann, Zachary Evetts, Joy Gibson, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Seth Sikes and Elizabeth Soto, according to court records. The person charged with obstruction was identified in court documents as Daniel Rolando Sanchez, who was arrested in Denton.
The first 10 people arrested were taken to the Johnson County Jail. They also face state charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer and terrorism, and their bond was set at $10 million each.
Hill, Evetts, and Elizabeth Soto were also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer causing serious bodily injury.
Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org and Toluwani Osibamowo at tosibamowo@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
