Politics
JUST IN: Antifa-Linked Extremists Hit With Terrorism Charges
A federal grand jury has indicted two far-left extremists with ties to Antifa-linked groups on terrorism charges in connection with a coordinated, ambush attack on a Texas ICE facility on July 4.
The indictments, which were handed down Wednesday and unsealed Thursday, were issued against Cameron Arnold and Zachary Evetts on charges of providing material support for terrorism, attempting to murder federal and assisting officers and discharging firearms during attempted murders.
“For the first time ever, the FBI has arrested anarchist violent extremists and charged these Antifa-aligned individuals with material support to terrorism,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
“This was a planned and coordinated terrorist attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where armed extremists tried to murder U.S. officers on July 4th,” he added. “We are executing under President Trump’s new authorities at record speed. To date, the FBI has made over 20 arrests tied to this case and related Antifa networks. No one gets to harm law enforcement. Not on our watch.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi also weighed in on the charges, noting that President Donald Trump recently designated the decentralized, far-left extremist group as a domestic terrorist organization. Bondi went on to reveal that additional charges against Antifa members will be forthcoming.
Cameron Arnold and Zachary Evetts are among the 11 individuals facing charges in connection with the July 4 attack
The attack occurred when officers with the Alvarado Police Department responded to reports of a suspicious individual armed with a gun skulking outside the facility, located in Johnson County, in the late hours of July 4. After approaching the suspect, officers were met with gunfire from “multiple people,” which struck one of them in the neck.
The injured officer was airlifted to a nearby hospital in Forth Worth and was later released. Police arrested multiple suspects in connection with the attack, who are believed to have disabled security cameras and created distractions outside in an effort to lure federal agents outside the ICE facility before the shooting.
“We’re here to tell you that late at night on July 4th, Friday night at approximately 10.37pm at the Prairieland Ice Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, 10 to 12 individuals dressed in black military-style clothing began shooting fireworks and engaging in acts of vandalism at the facility,” acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy Larson announced at the time.
Each of the 10 individuals arrested at the time — including Arnold and Evetts — were charged with three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Three of the attackers were charged with three counts of attempted murder of a federal agent.
Upon executing search warrants on properties belonging to the suspects, investigators recovered tactical gear, two-way radios, masks, gloves and additional materials used in the planning and execution of the attack.
Benjamin Song, a former member of local Antifa groups and the Elm Fork Branch of the John Brown Gun Club, was also arrested after an 11-day manhunt. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, 38, a former recipient of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is also facing charges for allegedly tampering with evidence relating to the case.
