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By Simon Crerar
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Five people accused of supporting the antifa movement pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges on Wednesday in a Texas courtroom, following a July shooting that wounded a police officer outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) detention center. The case marks the first of its kind since President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating antifa as a domestic terrorist threat in September.
Why It Matters
The defendants in Texas were charged with providing support to terrorists in the gunfire at ICE's Prairieland Detention Center. Constitutional law experts have questioned whether Trump has the power to designate any decentralized movement of activists and organizations as a terrorist threat.
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Former senior Justice Department official Mary McCord told Newsweek that “there is no statutory authority to designate domestic terrorist organizations.”
“The government referred to the alleged conspirators as members of an "antifa cell," but that is just a way of describing the conspiracy,” said McCord, now executive director at Georgetown’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. “The fact that the president has attempted to create his own designation of antifa as a domestic terrorist organization has no legal significance to the indictment.”
What To Know
Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” is a loose movement of far-left activists and groups who oppose fascism, white supremacists and neo-Nazis, often at protests.
Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Lynette Sharp, Seth Sikes and John Thomas each entered guilty pleas to one count of providing material support to terrorists in Fort Worth's federal court.
The court heard that protesters outside the Prairieland ICE facility yelled “get to the rifles” and multiple people opened fire as officers responded, striking one from the Alvarado Police Department in the neck. The injured officer was later released from a Fort Worth hospital after treatment.
What People Are Saying
After the defendants' arrests in October, FBI Director Kash Patel posted to X: “first time ever: the FBI arrested Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremists and terrorism charges have been brought for the July 4 Prairieland ICE attack in Texas.”
Before signing his executive order in September, Trump posted his plans to Truth Social: “I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating Antifa, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
What Happens Next
The defendants could face up to 15 years in prison at sentencing. Cases against others charged in the shooting remain ongoing.
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