Ten leftists charged in a Friday “ambush” on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Texas could each face sentences ranging from ten years to life in prison if convicted, authorities said Monday.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested ten suspects accused of coordinating an armed July 4 attack on the building in Alvarado, Texas and shooting a local police officer in the neck, officials said in a Monday press conference and criminal complaint. The incident was the first of two shootings at Texas border facilities over the past four days, reflecting a trend of increasingly violent assaults on law enforcement since the Trump administration ramped up ICE deportations. (RELATED: Active Shooter Ambushes Border Patrol Agents)
The leftist mob arrived at the scene on the evening of July 4 “wearing all black” and began shooting fireworks and writing graffiti such as “ICE pig” around the detention center and parking lot, the complaint said. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) correctional officer attempted to talk to the vandals, but two suspects later fired 20 to 30 rounds at federal and local officers, wounding one Alvarado officer in the neck, the DOJ alleged.
“It was a planned ambush with the intent to kill ICE corrections officers,” acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson said at the press conference. “Make no mistake. This was not a so-called peaceful protest.”
Police found two AR-15-style rifles, used casings, body armor plate carriers and loaded magazines near the scene, according to the DOJ. Officers later allegedly found more weapons in the vehicle of one of the suspects, who said he brought some individuals that he met online from Dallas to the ICE detention center to “make some noise.”
Law enforcement also observed body armor and radios on other suspects arrested that night, the DOJ alleged. One wearing the body armor allegedly had a backpack containing flyers that read “fight ICE terror with class war” and “free all political prisoners.”
The ten suspects alleged to have participated in the attack face charges of attempted murder, attempted murder of a federal officer, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting, the DOJ complaint says. They each face a maximum sentence of life in prison, while an eleventh “co-conspirator” who allegedly tried to destroy evidence of the plot faces up to ten years in prison, Larson said. Court records do not yet list attorneys for any of the defendants.
On Monday morning, the FBI searched the apartment of the eleventh suspect and found “anti-government propaganda,” including materials for “organizing for attack” and “insurrectionary anarchy.”
Law enforcement officials also announced Monday that a gunman opened fire on a Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, before local police and border agents returned fire and killed him.
The July 4th incident followed weeks of violent anti-ICE riots that sprouted in California and spread across the country. The Trump administration has charged more than 20 people with federal crimes related to the California riots.
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