U.S. News
The Leader of an Antifa Cell Who Shot a Texas Police Officer Got 100 Years in Prison
By Mike Harper · June 24, 2026
Benjamin Song told the judge he doesn’t hate cops, Trump, or Nazis. The judge gave him 100 years.
Song, a 28-year-old former US Marine Corps reservist, was sentenced Tuesday to 100 years in federal prison for his role as the leader of what prosecutors called a “North Texas antifa cell” that attacked the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas on July 4, 2025. Seven co-defendants received sentences ranging from 30 to 70 years. Combined: 450 years across eight people.
The attack happened just before midnight on Independence Day. Surveillance footage and trial testimony showed the defendants arriving at the ICE facility dressed in black bloc — dark clothing with head and face coverings — carrying fireworks, shields, and firearms. They threw fireworks at the building, vandalized vehicles and a guard shack, and spray-painted the walls.
Then it escalated.
An Alvarado police officer responded to the 911 call from correctional officers inside. When the officer began issuing commands, Song was captured on body camera audio yelling “get to the rifles!” — and then opened fire, striking the officer in the neck. The officer, Lieutenant Thomas Gross, survived. Song was convicted of three counts of discharging a firearm in addition to the terrorism charges.
US District Judge Reed O’Connor called it what prosecutors had argued throughout the trial.
“This wasn’t a protest. This was an assault on democracy.”
The case is the first federal terrorism prosecution designated as antifa-related since President Trump signed an executive order in September 2025 declaring antifa a domestic terrorist organization. Defense attorneys disputed the antifa designation, arguing the defendants were individual protesters with no formal organizational ties. Prosecutors introduced encrypted chat logs showing Song recruited members at gun ranges, distributed firearms, and conducted “combat sessions” in the weeks before the attack.
Seven more defendants — who pleaded guilty before trial — face sentencing on July 1. They could receive up to 15 years each. Twenty-two people total have been accused in state or federal court of involvement in the Prairieland attack.
Outside the courthouse in Fort Worth, Song’s mother disputed the prosecution’s account.
“My son did not shoot that officer. He didn’t intend to hurt anyone.”
Song could have received as little as 20 years. He got 100. He will be 128 years old when his sentence expires.