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ACCORDING TO LIZ - Those who read The Hunger Games trilogy probably never expected to be living in President Snow’s Panem dystopia a decade and a half later.
Late last month a group of Texas protesters convicted of terrorism charges received harsh sentences of at least 50 years in prison in a closely-watched case that was widely seen as a test case of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on dissent.
These sentences, dwarfing those meted out to the Jan. 6 rioters and handed down with much of the documentation redacted from public scrutiny, usher in an era of vindictive repression and the silencing of first amendment rights by association by the current administration.
After a three-week trial, a Texas jury found nine activists guilty of a cascade of criminal charges connected to a Fourth of July protest in 2025 at an immigrant detention facility south of Fort Worth where they intended to set off fireworks to demonstrate solidarity with the incarcerated.
When a police officer arrived on the scene, drew his weapon and was preparing to shoot an unarmed protester in the back – an intent admitted in court under oath, activist Marine Corps veteran Benjamin Song fired an AR-15 from the woods, hitting the officer in the shoulder. The officer survived.
Although many of the convicted protesters did not know each other directly, and were only loosely affiliated through a book club, prosecutors claimed the attack on the officer was premeditated and part of a conspiracy.
Hard to believe in the chaos that night.
Even though the prosecutors offered little if any material incriminating evidence at trial, they secured conviction of eight of the nine defendants for “providing material support to terrorists.” Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Savanna Batten, and Elizabeth Soto were sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years and her husband Daniel Sanchez-Estrada, who was not even present at the protest, to 30 years for purportedly moving a box of zines (non-commercial often homemade publications usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter – not so dissimilar from the pamphlets of Thomas Paine that spread the colonists’ legitimate grievances).
Song, who shot to protect the life of another protester from unreasonable force, was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
Yes, those guilty of criminal activities such as the shooting of a police officer deserve punishment but it should be commensurate with the crime and the extenuating circumstances.
Multiple requests for details underlying the prosecution of these defendants have produced bupkis. What are they so afraid of?
Few murderers are so harshly treated, even in Texas. Even for bringing fireworks to protest on the 4th of July.
Communication using the Signal app had already been normalized for anyone wary of surveillance months earlier by JD Vance, Pete Hegseth et al, and is preposterous as de facto evidence of conspiracy.
In a state known for its support of weapons ownership and their use for self-protection, that many of the defendants owned legally-acquired firearms and brought some to the protest was certainly more situationally acceptable than the same actions by Jan 6 rioters.
Further played up in Trump’s continued demonization of “antifa” – his paranoid obsession against, and amalgamating of, anyone who holding viewpoints to the left of his. Which is, well, almost everybody outside the MAGA-sphere.
Trump-backed prosecutors and the DoJ itself continue to double down on their blind belief that antifa is not a fantasy construct of the president but a coherent and credible entity, espousing terrorism and agitating violence in an effort to take down his administration.
And spinning the Texas convictions as proof that antifa is a terrorist organization across the country.
They’ve called for charging Governor JB Pritzker for antifa’s very existence in his state, brought meritless claims against innocent protesters, and slandered ordinary Americans in extraordinary public statements. Although many prosecutions are falling apart, threats and open proceedings across the country are indicative of abuse of power and justice by our new Panem administration.
Federal prosecutors charged 15 Minneapolis anti-ICE protesters with the high crime of “conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers.” Without listing any actions or injuries.
The heinous crime of which they stand accused? Attending a public Democratic Socialists of America meeting. Other “obvious” evidence of criminal conspiracy as detailed in the indictment included activists: having a bullhorn, carrying a radio, tracking ICE vehicles’ license plate numbers, wearing a sweatshirt and hat with left-wing political messages, and using a devil emoji in a Signal chat.
Uh.
Ex-squeeze me?
Federal prosecutors also charged 39 people including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, present as a reporter, over a protest at a church the pastor of which heads a local ICE field office.
And, for every high-profile case that goes to the Supreme Court, there are dozens of smaller ones in federal courts in which the Trump administration lies, bends the rules, slanders innocent citizens and otherwise abuses the legal system to persecute its political opponents.
In Spokane, Washington, a federal jury found three protesters guilty of conspiracy simply for participation in a 2025 protest outside an ICE facility.
In Chicago, a similar case against protesters tanked when, not for the first time, there was government misconduct before grand jurors.
Americans have been murdered by ICE, Minnesota officials accused of malfeasance by Trump’s pet DOJ and its governor subpoenaed, while the often aggressive and poorly trained ICE officers who should be held to a higher standard as agents of the federal government skate off to engage in violence elsewhere, too often with just a slap on the wrist… if any penance at all.
The people of the Twin Cities – Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota – were recently awarded the Kennedy family’s Profile in Courage Award for “risking their lives to protect their neighbors and immigrant community members from an unprecedented federal law enforcement operation.”
The Constitution and its amendments protect Americans’ right to all forms of free speech, their right to protest, and the right for the press to cover public activities, publish and disseminate information and opinions without government interference or censorship.
If an American attends a demonstration, are they guilty of a crime? If an American brings a camera to a protest, are they guilty of a crime? If an American with a just-in-case medical kit provides assistance to someone injured by ICE, are they also guilty? If a journalist writes about it…?
American democracy is indeed on an increasingly slippery slope.
(Liz Amsden is a former Angeleno now living in Vermont and a regular CityWatch contributor. She writes on issues she’s passionate about, including social justice, government accountability, and community empowerment. Liz brings a sharp, activist voice to her commentary and continues to engage with Los Angeles civic affairs from afar. She can be reached at [email protected].)
