9 Accused of Antifa Ties After a Violent ICE Protest Face Trial in Texas
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- Opening arguments have begun in a trial involving nine defendants accused of being part of a heavily armed antifa cell that allegedly shot and wounded a police officer during an attack on an ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas.
- The defendants have pleaded not guilty, with their lawyers and family members asserting that they were participating in a demonstration and did not anticipate violence.
- The case is seen by critics as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to prosecute antifa as a domestic terrorist group, following an executive order labeling antifa a domestic terrorist organization despite no such designation existing under U.S. law.
- Charges against the defendants include providing material support to terrorists and attempted murder of corrections officers, without requiring proof of membership in a designated terrorist organization.
