Witness testimonies detail night of Prairieland ICE facility shooting in federal trial

The eighth day of the federal trial for the alleged attack on the Prairieland detention center in Alvarado last July started with Lynette Sharp back on the witness stand. 

Nine men and women are on trial, facing a variety of federal charges, accused of being part of a "North Texas Antifa cell."

According to court documents, the group attacked the ICE facility, setting off fireworks, vandalizing property, and shooting at police officers who responded. One officer was struck in the neck with a bullet and survived. Charges include attempted murder, aiding terrorists and weapons charges. Those supporting the defendants have called those charges outrageous, saying the defendants were there protesting ICE and that the government has gone overboard to send a message.    

Witness testifies Benjamin Song asked for help after the shooting  

Sharp described getting messages on the Signal app from Benjamin Song. In messages shown to jurors, Song said he was alive and uncaptured, and needed help getting to safety. 

Sharp and another friend, John Thomas, drove to an area near Prairieland on the evening of July 5 and picked up Song in a parking lot. He'd spent almost 24 hours hiding in the brush near the facility.

The group decided the safest place to take Song was to an apartment where Thomas was cat-sitting. The following day, Sharp took him food, clothing, a wig, and other supplies. She said she spent hours with Song as he laid out his version of events that night.

Song admitted shooting officer during chaos, witness testifies

According to Sharp, Song said the fireworks were going off as Zachary Evetts and Nathan Baumann vandalized property in the employee parking lot. Suddenly, the police arrived. Sharp said Song told her, "And then I shot him." 

Sharp said he told her he panicked. The gun had jammed, so he threw it down and ran. She says Song told her he felt very bad that Inez Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Savanna Batten had gotten caught up in the chaos because "they arrived late and didn't know anything."

On cross-examination, Sharp described her journey through the court system after her arrest. 

She said at first she was charged with accessory after the fact, then came the federal charge of providing material support for terrorism. She spoke of what she said were terrible conditions at the Johnson County jail. 

"When you ask for medical care, they get angry," Sharp said. 

She also said she was placed in a cell very close to a break room area for jailers, which was loud at all hours and made it hard to sleep. Sharp, 57, has hearing aids, which the jailers had to remove each evening to charge. 

"They would wake me up at 3:30 in the morning to give them back to me, even though I didn't need them at the time," Sharp said.

At this point, the judge interrupted and suggested that Sharp meet with her attorney before testifying further.

After a brief break, Sharp explained how she became interested in attending protests in 2020, and that the friends she met through Song also took part in various protests. She said they would train in gun safety and bring guns to protests as a defensive measure. Sharp also told jurors that wearing a "black bloc" was a way to hide their identities from counter protesters and even their employers, who may not react well to seeing them taking part in such activities.

Sharp said while many of the defendants shared political and philosophical beliefs, not all of them were members of the Social Rifle Association or the Emma Goldman Book Club. There were overlaps, but there was no one name or label for all of them.

One defense attorney pointed out that Sharp's plea agreement did not include a stipulation that she was a member of antifa. 

"They think we are an organization," she said, referring to the accusations. According to Sharp, they were just a group of marginalized people who cared about similar things.

Second witness recounts fireworks, gunfire

The next cooperating witness was Seth Sikes, who has also pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support for terrorism. 

Sikes, 22, described meeting Song in 2022 and getting to know some of the other defendants over the years that followed. Though his plea agreement calls him a member of antifa, Sikes said it's simply "a blanket term for many disparate groups on the left."

Sikes said on the night of the shooting, he and Evetts were shooting off fireworks along the tree line while Maricela Rueda spoke to the detainees inside using a megaphone. He called it "uplifting" to see the people inside react to their presence. But he said once the Prairieland corrections officers began walking outside, Sikes turned to the others and told them they needed to leave.

Sikes says he was walking back towards the front of the property when a man named Nathan Baumann approached and introduced himself. According to Sikes, Baumann indicated he had spray paint with him that he intended to use. Sikes says Baumann and Evetts moved toward the employee lot to cause damage. 

Baumann has also entered a plea agreement with the government and is expected to testify.

Everything that came next was a "blur," Sikes said. He recalled seeing the police lights and running as Song yelled out, "Get to the rifles." 

Sikes heard the gunfire and realized "something has gone horrifically wrong."

He said Song ran past him, yelling expletives, and tossed his gun and backpack before taking off running.

Sikes was arrested minutes later while walking with Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, Savanna Batten and Maricela Rueda.