Family Members, Faith and Community Leaders, Rally in Support of Defendants, Vow to Continue Fight for Freedom, Justice for Loved Ones
FORT WORTH, TX – Eight Prairieland defendants were sentenced in federal court today, three months after their convictions on a variety of federal charges, including riot, material support for terrorists, attempted murder, possession and conspiracy to use explosives, and conspiracy to conceal documents. Family members and supporters, who sat stunned as US District Judges Mark Pittman and Reed O’Connor delivered sentences ranging from 30-100 years in prison, called the punishment cruel, callous and starkly disproportionate to the defendants’ actions. In a rally and press conference held after the sentencing, supporters expressed defiance and vowed to continue fighting for the Prairieland defendants’ freedom.
The eight Prairieland defendants sentenced today are Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada, Benjamin Hanil Song, and Elizabeth Soto. All defendants, with the exception of Sanchez Estrada were convicted of rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use an explosive, and use of an explosive device, which referred to the consumer grade fireworks used on July 4. Sanchez Estrada was convicted of concealing a document—political literature—and, along with Rueda, conspiracy to conceal documents. Song was additionally convicted of attempted murder of an officer and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime.
Eight Prairieland defendants were sentenced today to consecutive prison terms as follows:
- Savanna Batten: 50 years
- Zachary Evetts: 50 years
- Autumn Hill: 50 years
- Meagan Morris: 50 years
- Maricela Rueda: 70 years
- Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada: 30 years
- Benjamin Hanil Song: 100 years
- Elizabeth Soto: 50 years
Ines Soto will be sentenced on July 1, along with Joy “Rowan” Gibson and Rebecca Morgan, who took non-cooperating plea deals, and five defendants who took cooperating plea deals.
Song, the most harshly sentenced Prairieland defendant, having received a 100-year prison term, gave a moving statement in response to their sentence, explaining for the first time the motivations for their actions the night of the noise demonstration at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center. “What we all saw happen to Renee Good and Alex Pretti is my worst nightmare,” said Song. “What happened on July 4th, 2025 was that exact same nightmare – when I saw Lt. Thomas Gross point his gun at the back of a running, unarmed protestor, and assuming an aggressive firing position, leaning forward hard into the recoil of his gun.”
“As a firearms instructor and a United States Marine Corps Veteran, I knew exactly what was about to happen. I knew another protestor was about to be murdered right in front of me,” continued Song. “Should I have done nothing? Should I have looked the other way? Should I have just allowed yet another innocent person to be slaughtered?,” Song asked the court rhetorically. “I was forced to use…the minimum defensive force possible,” in order to “prevent what happened to Alex Pretti,” and to “prevent what happened to Renee Good.” The last thing Song wanted to do was hurt anyone, according to their prepared statement. “And I am so, so happy that no one had their life stolen from them that day. By anyone.”
“This case has relied on lies and misinformation from the start,” said Amber Lowrey, the sister of Savanna Batten, who was sentenced today to 50 years in prison. “While these absurd sentences are no surprise based on the bias of the court, it is heartbreaking nonetheless. But we will keep fighting to overturn these unjust convictions and to free Savanna and all the Prairieland defendants. We will not rest until they are free!”
“As a congregation, we decided that this case was a fundamental test of our right to dissent against authoritarian regimes,” said Ana Marie Thorne, Chair of the Social Justice Committee at All People’s Church Unitarian Universalist in Fort Worth. “These defendants are not militant monsters out to kill,” continued Thorne. “They are everyday people who saw our country literally interning people in concentration camps and decided to show up at Prairieland Detention Center to let those incarcerated there know that they mattered. We leave here today knowing that the outcome of this trial is not the end. It is the beginning.”
Before the sentencing, Judge Pittman dismissed numerous motions to overturn the convictions without providing written rulings and with little-to-no explanation. All nine trial defendants filed motions for a new trial, detailing how the government failed to provide the necessary evidence for a conviction and instead put on a trial that was “saturated with evidence designed to evoke fear, political bias, and guilt by association,” according to one of the motions. Another motion details potential juror misconduct. Prairieland defendants have vowed to fight their convictions and will be filing appeals in the following weeks.
The Prairieland cases, involving 22 people charged with both state and federal charges, stem from a noise demonstration in solidarity with detainees at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4, 2025. After the protest, an officer with the Alvarado Police Department became involved in an exchange of gunfire soon after arrival. The officer allegedly sustained minor injuries, and was reportedly released from the hospital shortly afterwards, but authorities have never provided hospital records to justify these claims. Alvarado police arrested ten people that night, and a dozen more were arrested over the following several months.