Texas Protesters Handed Decades-Long Sentences Under Anti-Terror Decree

The defendants were convicted for their roles in a July 2025 protest at the ICE facility, during which property was damaged and a police officer was wounded. While prosecutors framed the event as a coordinated militant attack, defense teams argued that most participants were engaged in a noise demonstration intended to show solidarity with detainees. Former Marine Benjamin Song received a 100-year sentence for shooting a police officer, while others, including Maricela Rueda, received 50 to 70-year terms for rioting and providing material support to terrorism.

The prosecution has drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties groups, particularly regarding the 30-year sentence given to Daniel Sanchez Estrada. Sanchez was convicted for conspiracy to conceal documents after moving a box containing political zines. Legal observers and the Freedom of the Press Foundation argue that criminalizing the possession of literature sets a dangerous precedent for First Amendment rights, noting that the materials were unrelated to the violence at the protest. Judge Reed O'Connor stated the lengthy terms were intended to send a clear message to those sharing the defendants' ideology. Critics, including Representative Rashida Tlaib, have characterized the prosecution as an attempt to suppress political dissent through the use of National Security Presidential Memorandum 7.