The Department of Justice charged 10 people with attempted murder for allegedly organizing a violent “ambush” of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center.
According to the complaint, around 10 to 12 individuals from the Dallas-Fort Worth area attacked the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4, allegedly launching fireworks at the center, vandalizing vehicles with graffiti like “Ice Pig,” and shooting at officers.
The defendants are Cameron Arnold, also known as Autumn Hill; Savannah Batten; Nathan Baumann; Zachary Evetts; Joy Gibson; Bradford Morris, also known as Meagan Morris; Maricela Rueda; Seth Sikes; Elizabeth Soto; and Ines Soto.
When an Alvarado police officer arrived on the scene, one of the masked suspects allegedly shot the officer in the neck, while another fired around 20 to 30 rounds at two unarmed ICE correctional officers. The suspects fled shortly after.
“It was a planned ambush with the intent to kill ICE corrections officers,” Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson said at a press conference Monday. “Make no mistake, this was not a so-called peaceful protest, it was indeed an ambush.”
One of the suspects, Bradford Morris, claimed that he met a few people online and brought them down from Dallas to the ICE detention center to “make some noise,” according to the complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Clark Wiethorn.
Wiethorn said that police later found an AR-15-style rifle near the scene with a bullet jammed in the chamber, causing it to malfunction, alongside a pistol magazine and 5.56 caliber casings, which are usually used with AR-15-style rifles.
Officers also discovered more firearms, magazines with ammunition, twelve sets of body armor, masks, goggles, posters that read “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR!” and a flag that said “RESIST FASCISM FIGHT OLIGARCHY.”
Each suspect is charged with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents, as well as three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. If convicted, they could all face 10 years to life in prison.
An eleventh alleged “co-conspirator,” Daniel Rolando Sanchez, who is charged in a separate complaint from the 10 suspects, was also found with “anti-government propaganda” in his home, like a flyer that read: “Organising for Attack! INSURRECTIONARY ANARCHY.”
“This increasing trend of violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas. Those who use violence against law enforcement officers will be found and prosecuted using the toughest criminal statutes and penalties available,” Larson said in a statement.
These alleged attacks come weeks after President Donald Trump deployed thousands of California National Guard troops and marines to Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE protests.
Most recently, a border facility was targeted Monday after a man armed with tactical gear fired dozens of rounds at Border Patrol agents in McAllen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, and three people are facing felony charges for allegedly assaulting federal officers at an ICE center in Portland, Oregon, Friday.
Acting Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office Director Josh Johnson said in a statement Tuesday that this recent “violence” and “vandalism” would not stop operations at ICE facilities.
“Violence, threats of violence, and attempts of vandalism at our ICE Facilities will not deter our officers at ICE from fulfilling their duties,” Johnson said. “This type of vigilante lawlessness is emblematic of the dangers federal, state, and local law enforcement officials face every day.”
The post 10 Charged With Attempted Murder After ‘Ambush’ at ICE Detention Center appeared first on The Daily Beast.
