Federal prosecutors in Texas have intensified their case concerning a July shooting at an immigration detention centre, levelling new terrorism-related charges against six additional individuals.
Expanded Indictment and New Charges
The latest indictment, issued on Friday, brings a new terrorism-related charge against six more people connected to the violent incident that occurred on July 4 outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas. This development means a total of twelve individuals are now implicated, with six others scheduled to enter guilty pleas.
This legal escalation directly leverages President Trump's recent executive action that designates the decentralised antifa movement as a domestic terrorist organisation. Prosecutors are now applying this designation to the case, alleging the group's actions constituted domestic terrorism.
Details of the July Attack
The case stems from a confrontation during a period when the Trump administration was ramping up deportations. According to court documents, the group engaged in a series of violent acts outside the detention facility.
Prosecutors state the individuals threw fireworks at the facility, vandalised vehicles, and then opened fire on responding police and correctional officers. The shooting resulted in an Alvarado police officer being struck in the neck. The officer was subsequently treated at a hospital and later released.
Beyond the new terrorism allegation, the charges include rioting, attempted murder, and various weapons and explosives charges.
Defence Challenges the Allegations
However, the prosecution's narrative is being challenged by the defence. Patrick McClain, a lawyer for one of the defendants, Zachary Evetts, has publicly questioned the evidence.
"Mr. Evetts has never been a member of anything like a ‘North Texas Antifa Cell,’ and from the evidence provided to us by the government so far, there is no evidence that such an organization ever existed," McClain stated on Saturday. He confirmed his client will plead not guilty at the arraignment on the new charges, scheduled for December 3.
The term 'antifa,' short for 'anti-fascists,' does not refer to a single, unified organisation. It is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that typically confront neo-Nazis and white supremacists at public demonstrations.
