Nine Protesters Sentenced Under Federal Terror Framing in Texas
Nine people who attended an anti-ICE protest outside the Prairieland detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, were sentenced to between 30 and 100 years in federal prison on June 25, 2026. All nine were convicted after a federal bench trial. Federal prosecutors had labeled the group an “antifa terror cell.”
The protest took place on July 4, 2025. During the demonstration, fireworks were set off and a police officer was shot and wounded. The government argued the entire group bore responsibility for the violence. Defense attorneys dispute that characterization, noting that individual defendants had no connection to the shooting.
“Now anyone engaged in basic protests with the wrong political beliefs can be labeled a domestic terrorist, when they have no intention of violence, not engaged in any violence, not interested in any violence.”
Sufia Khalid, Deputy Director, National Security Criminal Defense Center, Muslim Legal Fund of America, June 25, 2026
The sentencing range reveals how broadly the “terror cell” label was applied. According to the Muslim Legal Fund of America, one defendant, Maricela Rueda, received 30 years in prison for moving a box of antifascist zines at the protest. No evidence placed her near the shooting.
The Playbook Is Already Spreading Beyond Texas
Matt Sledge, a political reporter for The Intercept who has covered the case, warned after sentencing that the prosecutorial strategy is not limited to this case. “We just have to watch for this playbook to be applied elsewhere,” Sledge said. The federal government’s ability to charge protesters collectively under a terror framing, regardless of their individual actions, creates a tool that can be deployed at any protest involving political dissent.
The Prairieland facility is a private ICE detention center that has faced criticism over conditions. Protests outside it predated the July 4 incident. The use of a single violent act to prosecute the entire group of attendees sets a precedent that legal experts and civil liberties organizations say criminalizes political assembly itself.
Sufia Khalid represents defendant Maricela Rueda through the National Security Criminal Defense Center at the Muslim Legal Fund of America, which focuses on national security cases affecting Muslim and politically targeted communities.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to oppose using domestic terrorism statutes against nonviolent protest attendees. Ask them specifically to demand a Department of Justice review of the Prairieland Nine sentencing and how collective criminal liability was applied.
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Contact the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility at (202) 514-3365 to request a review of prosecutorial charging decisions in the Prairieland case. Ask specifically whether the government’s evidence against each defendant was reviewed individually before charging.
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Contact your representative at (202) 225-3121 and ask them to cosponsor any legislation limiting the use of terrorism enhancements against protest participants absent direct evidence of violent intent. Reference the Prairieland Nine case by name.
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Donate directly to the National Security Criminal Defense Center at mlfa.org, which is funding Maricela Rueda’s defense. Appeals in federal cases of this severity cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and the process begins immediately after sentencing.
Sources
The Intercept: Prairieland Nine Defendants Sentenced in Federal Court Democracy Now: Prairieland Nine Protesters Sentenced 30 to 100 Years in Texas Muslim Legal Fund of America: Chilling Dissent, Prairieland Defendant Sentenced 30 Years for Moving Zines ACLU: Protest Rights and Domestic Terrorism Designations