Eighteen Charged with Terrorism in Texas Anti-ICE Protest Crackdown

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In the aftermath of a July 4, 2025 demonstration outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, federal and state authorities have arrested 18 people and charged them with a range of offenses, including 'providing material support for terrorism,' rioting, carrying explosives, firearms, and attempted murder of a federal employee. The crackdown is part of a broader pattern of repression targeting protest movements across the country.

Why it matters

This case represents a strategic escalation in a decades-running campaign to expand state repression, criminalize dissent, and lay the groundwork for an all-out assault on grassroots movements. Authorities are seeking to use the Prairieland case to set dangerous new legal precedents that would allow them to treat protest infrastructure as 'terrorism' and crack down on a wide range of activist activities.

The details

According to the criminal complaint, on July 4, roughly a dozen people participated in a demonstration at the Prairieland Detention Center, a facility imprisoning immigrants facing deportation proceedings. When the police responded, gunfire allegedly erupted, with one officer reportedly being injured. In the aftermath, 18 people - some of whom apparently neither participated in the demonstration nor set foot anywhere near the Prairieland Detention Center - have been charged with a range of offenses. Prosecutors have sought to fabricate a criminal enterprise involving not only the participants in the demonstration but whoever else they could find to target, charging arrestees' partners and even a member of a support committee.

• On July 4, roughly a dozen people participated in a demonstration at the Prairieland Detention Center.
• On July 7, a criminal complaint was filed alleging the events at Prairieland.
• On September 22, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order 'Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization'.
• On September 25, National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) was issued, ordering law enforcement to 'disband and uproot networks, entities, and organizations that promote organized violence, violent intimidation, conspiracies against rights, and other efforts to disrupt the functioning of a democratic society'.
• On February 17, jury selection will begin for a trial involving nine of the Prairieland defendants.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.