Alvarado ICE facility ambush trial: Witness describes helping alleged shooter escape

FORT WORTH, Texas - For the first time on Thursday, jurors heard from a woman who accepted a plea deal after being arrested for her role in what happened outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado.

Trial Testimony Day 7

What we know:

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 detention center on July 4, 2025, allegedly under Song’s direction.

Song is accused of firing the shot that injured Alvarado Police Department Lt. Thomas Gross. Song allegedly hid in the woods for a night after the violence and was captured roughly a week later.

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, Lynette Sharp testified while wearing an orange and white prison uniform. Sharp confirmed that the nine defendants are her friends.

She said on the night of the incident, she drove to a nearby wooded area to help the alleged mastermind and shooter, Benjamin Song, escape the area. She said she picked up Song, got him clothes and a wig, and then dropped him off at an apartment.

During cross-examination, Sharp said Song told her he was the only one who fired shots.

"Did he say he shot him or shot at him?" the attorney asked.

Sharp did not answer specifically. Her response meandered, and the defense attorney concluded.

A different defense attorney asked Sharp whether she considers herself a member of Antifa. She replied, "No."

That question referred to the plea deal she signed admitting she adheres to an anti-government and anti-ICE ideology, which the government identifies as Antifa.

When asked why she signed the document, Sharp said she was under tremendous pressure to help authorities locate Song, who was on the run. She said she was placed in an area of the Johnson County jail that made sleeping impossible. All the while, she was confronted with possible charges from both state and federal prosecutors.

"I felt I would die in there. I have to take nine pills a day. When you ask for medical care there, they get mad. It was awful," she said.

What's next:

Sharp has yet to be sentenced as part of her plea deal. She could get up to 15 years in prison. Or the government could recommend a reduced sentence based on her testimony.

Several of the defendants currently on trial face up to life in prison if convicted. 

Their trial is expected to last about three weeks.

Continued Coverage

• Defendants allegedly discussed guns, cameras & exit routes on Signal app
• Testimony focuses on "propaganda" evidence in suspects’ homes
• Witnesses, investigators testify on what happened
• Jurors view evidence, deputy body camera footage
• Jurors listen to 911 calls in Alvarado ICE facility ambush 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

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.

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.

Fort WorthJohnson CountyCrime and Public SafetyImmigrationTerrorism