All Nine Antifa/Trantifa Terrorsts Convicted by Federal Court; This is the First Time Antifa/Trantifa Has Been Convicted of Domestic Terrorism

 

All Nine Antifa/Trantifa Terrorsts Convicted by Federal Court; This is the First Time Antifa/Trantifa Has Been Convicted of Domestic Terrorism

The 2025 Alvarado ICE facility incident, alternately the Prairieland ICE detention center incident, occurred at the Prairieland Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, United States, on the evening of July 4, 2025. Officials say that eleven individuals, some in black clothing or body armor, set off fireworks and vandalized parked vehicles and a guard structure outside the center. A person in a nearby wooded area allegedly opened fire with a rifle after local police responded; an Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck and released from the hospital a short time later. Eleven individuals were arrested soon afterward; within the ensuing month, the alleged shooter was arrested after a manhunt, and five alleged associates were arrested.

On October 16, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed terrorism charges against two suspects, and in a social media post, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi said the two men were part of "antifa", which she characterized as a "left wing terrorist organization." Major media organizations said this is the first time the DOJ has charged anyone with terrorism in connection with alleged antifa activities, mirroring statements made by FBI director Kash Patel. In October, an eighteenth person was arrested on a state charge of aiding in the commission of terrorism.[3] In January 2026, a nineteenth person was arrested. Supporters of the defendants refer to them as the Prairieland 19.

Several defendants say they believed they were attending a peaceful "noise demonstration" and had no knowledge of any planned violence.

In a historical first, nine people have been convicted by a federal jury on domestic terrorism charges connected to Antifa.

The group was accused of being a part of the North Texas Antifa Cell, and was found guilty of rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and attempted murder, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced Friday evening.

The group was convicted of the attempted murder of an Alvarado, Texas, police officer and correctional officers at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center occurring on July 4, 2025.

The convictions came after a 12-day trial beginning Feb. 23, which included 45 witnesses and more than 210 exhibits.

The first conviction of its kind comes six months after The Center Square asked President Donald Trump if he would designate Antifa a domestic terror organization following the rise of left-wing political violence. In response, the president officially designated the group a terror organization a week later.

Several Antifa cells in Europe have since been designated foreign terror organizations.