United States v. Arnold et al.
NEW: Federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment last week in the criminal case against a North Texas Antifa Cell.
The case is remarkable because it is the first time an Antifa group has been hit with terrorism charges.
On the night of July 4, 2025, near Alvarado, Texas, the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility, vehicles at the facility, federal agents, and responding Alvarado police officers were attacked by a group of almost a dozen people.
The attack was part vandalism, part ambush.
It was a coordinated assault, with several groups of attackers.
One group used fireworks to distract/disorient/suppress law enforcement, while another group vandalized structures and vehicles, and yet another group ambushed law enforcement with firearms.
The attackers had body armor, med kits, and some carried firearms.
A responding Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck by one attacker who was positioned in a nearby tree line. (He survived.)
Another assailant fired 20-30 rounds at responding ICE facility officers.
These are some of the individuals charged in connection to the attack. They are members or associates of the North Texas Antifa and John Brown Gun Club.
h/t: @MrAndyNgo for this graphic
Initially, just days after the attack, 10 defendants were charged in a federal complaint.
Those charges were
-Attempted Murder of a Fed Officer (3)
-Discharging Firearm In Furtherance of a Crime of Violence (3)
All 10 were in custody.
But around September 22, 2025, things shifted.
Trump did a thing.
whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
While designating a group as a Domestic Terrorist Organization isn't actually a thing in U.S. law, the President directing "all relevant executive departments and agencies [to] utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations—especially those involving terrorist actions—conducted by [a group]" absolutely is.
I was aware of the case since that initial complaint, and after the EO from Trump, I began checking it more often.
I noticed that there are a LOT of missing docket entries. There may be more filings left off the electronic docket than placed on it.
I suspect this is due to the PACER hack that the US court system was alerted to in early August.
Ever since, courts have been keeping sealed or sensitive filings off of PACER. Sometimes there's a placeholder entry, but more often not, and generally filings are slow to arrive.
I'm a bit grumpy about this. 😖
Weeks after the President's EO, a grand jury returned an indictment against two of the defendants in this case: Cameron Arnold aka "Autumn Hill" and Zachary Evetts.
The charges:
- Providing Material Support to Terrorists
- Attempted Murder of Officers/Employees of the U.S. (3)
- Discharging a Firearm in Relation to a Crime of Violence (3)
For the first time, members of an Antifa cell had been hit with terrorism charges.
"As @POTUS has made clear, Antifa is a left-wing terrorist organization. They will be prosecuted as such."
- @AGPamBondi
By mid-October, "the FBI [had] made over 20 arrests tied to this case and related Antifa networks."
- @FBIDirectorKash
I briefly touched on this development in episode 348 of my podcast and have continued tracking the case.
Last week, on Nov 13, @StateDept designated four European Antifa groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
And in my video covering that news, I brought up the Arnold et al. case and gave some updates.
The updates included:
- Designating the case as complex
- DOJ sending plea offers to 15 defendants
- Noticing the court that a superseding indictment and more charges would be brought against any who did not accept a plea offer
- Noticing the court that, in addition to the 5 terabytes of discovery already located, there may be classified information relevant to the case as well
Remember how I mentioned the PACER hack delaying and sometimes keeping things off the docket?
Well, it turns out that on the same day that the U.S. designated those four Europe-based groups as FTOs, a grand jury in Texas returned...
A superseding indictment against 9 members of the North Texas Antifa Cell.
Here is how the new indictment defines Antifa:
Count One - Riot
Count Two - Providing Material Support to Terrorists
Counts Three & Four - Conspiracy to Use and Carry an Explosive
Counts Five, Six, & Seven - Attempted Murder of Federal Officer
Counts Eight, Nine, & Ten - Discharge of Firearm in Violent Crime
Counts Eleven - Corruptly Concealing Document or Record
Count Twelve - Conspiracy to Conceal
I'll keep tracking this important case, as it may provide a template for future prosecutions against Antifa members, groups, and those who provide support to them.
Links used for this thread
United States v. Arnold et al.
courtlistener.com/docket/7166444…
Criminal Complaint
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Ten Individuals Charged with Attempted Murder of Federal Officers and Firearms Offenses in Alvarado Police Officer Shooting
justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/t…
DESIGNATING ANTIFA AS A DOMESTIC TERRORIST ORGANIZATION
whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
Indictment
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
DOJ brings first Antifa-related terrorism charges in Texas ICE attack
foxnews.com/us/doj-brings-…
Motion to Designate Case as Complex
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Notice of Classified Info
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Superseding Indictment
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
DOJ Press Release: Antifa Cell Members Indicted in Prairieland Shooting
justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/a…
You can find all of my links here
linktr.ee/just_human
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