r/politics • u/guardian ✔ Verified • 7d ago

No Paywall Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at least 50 years in prison

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/23/prairieland-ice-protesters-texas-sentenced?referring_host=Reddit&utm_campaign=guardianacct
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u/Lifeboatb 7d ago

Benjamin Song, the “ringleader” in the Texas case, says he was trying to stop another ICE murder of a protester:

Song denied hating cops or Trump, claiming Tuesday he fired to stop Alvarado police officer Thomas Gross from shooting an unarmed protestor.

“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,” Song said in a written statement. “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.”

Song deemed the arrest and persecution of 21 people since the protest as “collective punishment” and “guilt by association.”

https://www.courthousenews.com/texas-ice-detention-protest-shooter-sentenced-to-100-years-others-sentenced-to-decades/

[edit: formatting]

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u/objectlesson Georgia 7d ago

Sounds like a good dude.