Judges resume sentencing over shooting at Texas immigration facility

DALLAS (AP) — More people awaited sentencing Wednesday over a shooting outside a Texas immigration center that has already resulted decades-long prison sentences for others, including a former Marine who received 100 years in prison.

The hearing comes nearly a year after the shooting last July outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas, which wounded a police officer and included the group setting off fireworks during a demonstration against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In all, more than a dozen people have been convicted or pleaded guilty over the shooting at the facility, which the U.S. Justice Department has alleged was carried out by members of the leftist militant group antifa.

Attorneys for the protesters have denied antifa links, and family members have expressed shock over the stiff sentences handed down in Texas.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor called the protest an “assault on democracy” before he and another judge handed down lengthy prison sentences to eight demonstrators who were convicted by a federal jury on terrorism charges.

On Wednesday, six other defendants faced sentences of up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty instead of going to trial. Each pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists, including a man who testified at the trial of the other demonstrators that he spray-painted a guard shack and vehicles in the parking lot.

The case has been closely watched by critics who say the prosecution could have wide-reaching impact on protests and First Amendment free-speech rights.

For the past year, attorneys for the defendants have said there was no planned ambush and that protesters who brought firearms only did so for their own protection. They argued the gathering was planned as a late-night demonstration with fireworks to show support for immigrants.

Prosecutors told jurors at trial that the group’s actions — including bringing firearms, first aid kits and wearing body armor — were signals of nefarious intent.

Benjamin Song, a former U.S. Marine reservist who was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, and seven others received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years in prison.

Another person awaiting sentencing on Wednesday was convicted at trial. Ines Soto, whose wife was also convicted, faces up to 60 years in prison after being convicted on charges of providing material support to terrorists, riot and explosives. At trial, attorneys for the couple said they arrived late and left when confronted by guards.