DALLAS—The prosecution rested Tuesday in a landmark domestic terrorism case against an alleged Texas Antifa cell, as did attorneys for all nine defendants, setting up closing arguments on March 11.

The defense attorneys declined to present a case after the prosecution rested.

In the trial, now in its third week at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth, the government alleges that an Antifa cell launched a coordinated attack against the Prairieland Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility housing illegal immigrants outside Dallas on July 4, 2025.

The prosecution’s case included testimony from a terrorism expert to bolster the government’s argument that Antifa is an operational group, not just an ideology, as the defense claimed during its cross-examination of witnesses.

Kyle Shideler, senior analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, testified Tuesday that tactics and anti-government literature in possession of defendants were hallmarks of Antifa.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 22, 2025, designating the Antifa far-left extremist group as a domestic terrorist organization.

​Members of Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” have not faced terrorism-related charges until now, although they have been involved in organized protests across the country that have at times turned violent.

Defendants Cameron Arnold (also known as Autumn Hill), Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris (also known as Meagan Morris), Maricela Rueda, and Benjamin Song face the most serious charges of attempted murder of officers, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy to use and carry explosives, in addition to providing material support to terrorists and other charges.

The prosecution argued that Song ambushed law enforcement, firing 11 shots at police and detention officers, wounding one officer in the neck.

If convicted, Song, Arnold, Evetts, Morris, and Rueda each face a minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Savanna Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto face fewer charges that include material support to terrorists, along with conspiracy to use and carry explosives. Daniel Rolando Sánchez-Estrada faces charges of concealing a document or record and conspiracy to conceal documents.

Defense Fund

During Shideler’s testimony, the prosecution noted that cooperating witnesses testifying against the nine defendants had plea deals with the government, admitting to being anti-fascists or Antifa. Susan Kent, a former member of the alleged Antifa cell and cooperating witness, testified that some of the defendants were members of Antifa.

The government was able to use Shideler to link the defendants to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund (IADF), which sent a donation to the defendants that read: “With love and solidarity from your friends,” according to testimony.

The Epoch Times reported last year that IADF donated more than $5,000 to a GiveSendGo account set up in support of “DFW Anti-ICE Protesters.”

The fundraising site, which has raised more than $86,000 as of March 10, said the money would go toward living expenses and legal fees for defendants arrested after they held a “noise demonstration” at the Prairieland ICE facility.

However, defense attorneys noted that defendants represented by public defenders generally could not use such outside funds.

According to the government, law enforcement found a small notebook containing passwords for online accounts for the Emma Goldman Book Club and the Antifa DFW account on X in the home of defendant Elizabeth Soto.

However, defense attorneys noted that others may have also had access to the passwords for the X accounts.

Lynette Sharp, who was a member of the alleged cell before becoming a government witness, testified that she and other defendants attended Emma Goldman Book Club monthly meetings to discuss articles, book excerpts, and zines from an anti-capitalist perspective.

Goldman, the book club’s namesake, was a Russian-born Jew and revolutionary who advanced an anti-capitalist, anarchist ideology in the United States in the early 1900s until she was deported.

Shideler testified on the entries under the X accounts that included a photo of a burning building during the George Floyd protests of 2020 and comments such as “we don’t need safety, we need to escalate.”

‘Direct Action’

Shideler described Antifa as a loose group of leftists operating under one banner. The beliefs of those in Antifa range from anarchy to types of socialism and communism that are anti-capitalistic and don’t believe in hierarchical government systems.

Antifascists oppose liberal democracy because they see it as a stepping stone to fascism, Shideler said.

Anarchists focus on “direct action” to influence or effect political change, which has included bombings and prison breaks, to foment an insurrection that will eventually turn into a revolution, Shideler testified.

Antifa tactics include wearing black bloc, or all black clothing and face coverings, scouting in advance of a direct action operation, and bringing medical kits and two-way radios—all of which were part of the previous testimony of alleged Antifa members during the trial, according to Shideler.

Shideler testified on videos, zines, or self-published pamphlets, and other literature found in apartments or vehicles associated with defendants.

Some of the literature seized referred to “To Change Everything: an Anarchist Appeal,” a widely distributed pamphlet published by CrimethInc., an international network of anarchists and anti-capitalists, he said.

Other messages and literature included topics such as Bash Back!, which is a “queer liberation” network of anarchists, according to authorities. The idea is to go on the offensive rather than respond to events, Shideler testified.

Zines associated with the defendant include: “If We Go, We Go on Fire,” which discusses social war and taking the offensive against police who “murder young and old alike with impunity on front lawns and in kitchens,” according to The Anarchist Library online.

The black and red of the Antifa flag is symbolic, Shideler said. Black represents anarchism, and red represents anarcho-socialism and anarcho-communism, political philosophies that reject government and hierarchical societies.

Justin Killian, a member of the Fort Worth joint FBI terrorism task force, also testified for the government about text messages and photos recovered from Evetts’ Apple cloud account. The information on his account included bylaws for the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA), which some describe as a far-left gun group, according to testimony.

The SRA’s bylaws emphasized the importance of remaining armed for “community defense” amid the “hardships of capitalism.” The information advised wearing body armor and to remain “mobile,” “be disruptive,” and “stay destructive.”

Defense attorneys questioned Shideler’s credentials and his job at a right-wing think tank, noting that he was neither a university professor nor someone who conducted social science research.

Shideler’s background includes testifying before Senate committees on ideologically motivated threats. While on the witness stand, he described using open source information to help develop profiles on extremist groups, such as Antifa, that have aided law enforcement groups.

Defense attorneys also suggested that Shideler wrote the government’s definition of Antifa, which Shideler denied, saying he offered his expertise, but the language was the government’s.

“It’s their definition,” he said.

Defense attorneys also contend that black bloc and masking allowed their clients to protect themselves from counter-protester doxxing, which is when someone’s personal identification and address are shared publicly online. None of the Signal chat messages the defendants sent to each other when planning the protest discussed Antifa, harming anyone, or damaging property, according to the defense.