Five people pleaded guilty to a terrorism-related offense allegedly tied to antifa after a shooting at a Texas immigration detention center on the Fourth of July.  

Federal prosecutors alleged that operatives in a North Texas "antifa cell" plotted to target law enforcement officers with gunfire and explosives at the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado.

Last week, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Lynette Sharp and John Thomas were charged with one count of providing material support to terrorists. Seth Sikes was charged in late October. All entered guilty pleas on Wednesday. They each face up to 15 years in federal prison. 

Rebecca Morgan was also charged last week with one count of providing material support to terrorists. Morgan is set to plead guilty next week.   

July 4 attack at Prairieland ICE detention facility

On the night of July 4, several masked individuals dressed in black, some of them armed, arrived at the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado and vandalized vehicles and security cameras in the parking lot, according to the Alvarado Police Department. 

When an Alvarado police officer tried to engage with a person from the group, an unknown number of people opened fire. At least one bullet struck the officer in the neck, Alvarado police said. 

Body camera footage presented by federal prosecutors in a Fort Worth federal courtroom during a Sept. 30 detention hearing captured the chaos as gunfire erupted. Prosecutors said more than 50 weapons were seized in connection with the group.   

The Prairieland facility houses between 1,000 and 2,000 immigration detainees, according to the testimony of an FBI agent on Sept. 30, who also witnessed the attack. 

It had no security the night of the shooting, according to the witness's court testimony, who also mentioned significant staffing shortages around that time. 

The facility now has a 24/7 armed officer in three different locations, the FBI agent said during testimony. 

The indictment claims that at least 11 of the defendants rioted and attacked the detention facility.

9 others face charges from rioting to attempted murder

Last week's indictment charges Cameron Arnold, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada with multiple offenses for their roles related to the Prairieland attack. 

They face various charges, including attempted murder of an officer, providing material support of terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry and explosive, and discharging a firearm during a violent crime. 

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 3 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Texas.      

If convicted, Song, Arnold, Evetts, Morris, and Rueda each face a minimum of 10 years in federal prison. Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto each face 10 years to 50 years in federal prison. Sanchez-Estrada faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.  

What is antifa? 

The Justice Department said in the indictment that "Antifa is a militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to a revolutionary anarchist or autonomous Marxist ideology, which explicitly calls for the overthrow of the U.S. government, law enforcement authorities and the system of law."

In September, President Trump signed an executive order labeling antifa a "domestic terrorist organization."    

Antifa, short for anti-fascist, typically refers to a loose affiliation of mostly left-wing activists, and isn't generally considered to be an organized group with a clear leadership structure.