Benjamin Song Sentenced to 100 Years for Ambush Shooting of Police Officer Outside Texas ICE Facility

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A man connected to an anti-government extremist movement will spend the next century behind bars after being found guilty of shooting a police officer during a planned attack at an immigration detention center in Texas.

Benjamin Song received his 100-year federal prison sentence on Tuesday for his involvement in the July 4 assault on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility located in Alvarado, Texas. As initially reported, this was not some spur-of-the-moment act of violence. Federal prosecutors described it as a carefully organized operation that took weeks of preparation, with the explicit goal of drawing law enforcement officers into the open so they could be targeted.

The plot kicked off with what appeared to be a protest outside the detention facility. Those involved launched fireworks along the tree line surrounding the property, damaged vehicles with spray paint and other forms of vandalism, and then fired on officers who came out to investigate. According to prosecutors, all of that destruction was a deliberate distraction meant to pull federal agents into an exposed position.

Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross arrived on the scene and took a bullet to the neck. He survived the shooting. Song was later identified as the person who fired the shot.

A trial lasting 12 days, held during February and March of 2026, resulted in convictions for Song along with eight co-defendants. The government presented an extensive body of evidence, including surveillance video capturing fireworks being ignited near the facility, weapons and tactical equipment found at the scene, cell phone data belonging to multiple defendants, items recovered from their homes, and testimony from over 45 witnesses. One cooperating witness told the court that Song had confessed to shooting a law enforcement officer.

Song was found guilty of attempted murder along with three counts of firing a weapon during a violent crime. His co-defendants faced a range of charges, including rioting, offering material support to terrorists, conspiring to deploy explosives during a riot, and other related offenses. Notably, the explosives mentioned in those charges referred to fireworks. Seven of the defendants who went to trial were acquitted on the attempted murder and firearm aiding-and-abetting counts.

The sentences handed down on Tuesday, June 23, varied based on each individual's level of involvement. Maricela Rueda was given 70 years. Five others, Autumn Hill, Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Meagan Morris, and Elizabeth Soto, each received 50 years. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, who was additionally convicted of hiding documents related to his wife Rueda, was sentenced to 30 years. A ninth convicted defendant, Ines Soto, has a sentencing date set for July 1, 2026.

Beyond those who went to trial, seven more defendants entered guilty pleas beforehand on a single count of providing material support to terrorists. Those individuals are Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas. Each one could face up to 15 years in prison, and all are still waiting to learn their sentences.

This prosecution represents one of the most significant domestic terrorism cases involving extremist violence directed at federal law enforcement to emerge in recent years.

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