Alvarado ICE facility ambush trial: Jurors view evidence, deputy body camera footage
FORT WORTH, Texas - During the third of testimony, jurors heard from more witnesses and viewed officer body camera footage from the night nine people allegedly ambushed an ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas.
The defendants maintain it was a protest. The federal government calls it a coordinated domestic terrorism attack.
Trial Testimony Day 3
The backstory:
The nine defendants in this case – Daniel Estrada, Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, Maricela Rueda, Bradford Morris, Savanna Batten, Benjamin Song, Zachary Evetts, and Cameron Arnold – are each accused of attacking the Prairieland Detention Facility on July 4, 2025, allegedly under Song’s direction.
The violence culminated in gunfire that left a responding Alvarado Police Department Lt. Thomas Gross seriously injured.
Defense attorneys have argued there was no ambush. They called it a planned noise demonstration to show support for the immigration detainees.
What's new:
On Thursday, the jury heard from more key witnesses from the night of the alleged attack.
Carl Banks, a Johnson County deputy, showed the jury evidence recovered from a vehicle driven by defendant Meagan Morris. The evidence included an AR-15 rifle and a pistol.
"It was shocking seeing what was inside the vehicle, weapons, body armor and ammunition," Banks told the jury.
Body camera footage from the night of the incident was played for the jury. Defense attorneys objected to the footage being played, but the judge overruled and allowed it.
The footage included two officers going back and forth. They could be heard saying, "What the ‘expletive!' This appears to be a targeted hit on Prairieland," and "This is like a straight coordinated terror attack on the ICE detention center."
During cross-examination, a defense attorney suggested the deputy made a rush to judgment.
"So, less than five minutes into the stop, you were using those types of phrases?" the defense attorney asked.
"Yes sir," Banks responded.
"Did you know only one person fired a firearm? At that point, did you know only one person carried a weapon onto the Prairieland property?" a defense attorney continued.
"At that time, I did not know," Banks said.
Dig deeper:
The trial is playing out at the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Worth. The media was given a limited view of the courtroom through a live stream accessible only from a room in the Earle Cabell Federal Building in Dallas.
The nine defendants on trial have nine separate defense teams. So, it’s been difficult for journalists to determine which defense attorney is speaking. A good number of them are taking part in the cross-examination of the government’s witnesses.
The trial has also attracted attention from journalists from across the country. Some have traveled from cities such as Chicago and New York to watch the trial.
Continued Coverage
- Jurors listen to 911 calls in Alvarado ICE facility ambush trial
- Alvarado ICE facility terrorism trial: Attorneys give opening statements
- Alvarado ICE facility terrorism trial restarts following mistrial
- Mistrial in federal domestic terrorism case over Alvarado ICE facility attack
- 9 alleged Antifa members face domestic terrorism trial for July 4 ICE facility attack
- First Antifa terrorism case: 5 plead guilty in Alvarado ICE facility attack
- Justice department must 'connect the dots' in first-ever Antifa indictment
- 9 'Antifa cell members' indicted in connection with Alvarado ICE shooting
- Alvarado ICE Facility Ambush: 21st person facing charges related to 'coordinated attack'
- Benjamin Song, 'Top 10' suspect in Alvarado ICE attack, captured in Dallas
- Alvarado ICE facility an 'easy target' for ambush, criminologist says
- Alvarado ICE facility attack: Blue Alert sent for military veteran suspected in shooting
- Alvarado officer shot in neck while responding to suspicious person call
Alvarado ICE Ambush
Jurors hear 911 call in Texas ICE facility terrorism case
Trial testimony continues for nine defendants accused of a coordinated July 2025 attack on an Alvarado ICE detention facility that left a police officer seriously injured. Jurors heard 911 calls and investigator testimony on Wednesday, with the government calling it domestic terrorism and the defense calling it a noise demonstration. FOX 4's Dionne Anglin has more.
The nine defendants in this case are accused of participating in what federal prosecutors have called a planned ambush at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center on July 4, 2025.
Authorities allege fireworks were ignited, buildings and vehicles were damaged, and federal officers were fired upon. An Alvarado police officer responding to a 911 call was shot in the neck and survived.
Prosecutors contend the attack was orchestrated by members of what they describe as a North Texas Antifa cell and have labeled the case the first federal indictment in the nation tied to alleged Antifa-related domestic terrorism charges.
Benjamin Song, 'Top 10' suspect in Alvarado ICE attack, captured in Dallas
Benjamin Song, an FBI Most Wanted suspect believed to have attempted to murder three officers at an ICE detention facility in Alvarado on July 4, has been arrested.
The defendants have denied wrongdoing, and their supporters insist the gathering was a protest and that not everyone present participated in the violence.
Five other people arrested in connection with the incident previously accepted plea deals and are expected to testify as the trial moves forward.
First Antifa terrorism case: 5 plead guilty in Alvarado ICE facility attack
Five people who pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges for supporting an alleged "Antifa cell" attack on an ICE detention center now face up to 15 years in prison, marking the first time Antifa has been targeted with material support to terrorism charges.
The Source: Information in this story came from statements made in court today and previous FOX 4 coverage of this story.