A planned raid on a Texas ICE facility has produced the first federal terrorism convictions against an Antifa-affiliated group. The eight defendants, convicted of conspiracy and charges including attempted murder, now face up to fifteen years in prison.
The prosecution hinged on digital evidence the group created themselves. As reported on *It Could Happen Here*, the defendants used Signal for planning but left default notification settings active. This allowed Apple’s internal memory to preserve incoming messages even after the app was deleted, creating a detailed map of the conspiracy for the FBI.
Garrison Davis, It Could Happen Here:
- You can set your settings on Signal to not display the message in notifications, and it seems like that was not the case.
The legal strategy for the defense collapsed before the trial began. Judge Mark Pittman barred the defendants from arguing they acted in self-defense after one member shot a police officer in the neck. The ruling stated that an officer drawing a weapon does not constitute excessive force if they don’t fire first, a standard that would not apply in a civilian encounter.
Robert Evans, It Could Happen Here:
- The fact that he had drawn his gun would have been enough to at least argue self defense.
Internal messages revealed a split within the group. While one member advocated using suppressive rifle fire to liberate detainees, others during a gear check insisted the weapons were only for deterrence. The Department of Justice characterized the July 4th event not as a noise demonstration but as a coordinated terrorist attack.
These convictions establish a legal precedent, framing a planned armed assault on a government facility as an act of domestic terrorism, moving it permanently out of the realm of political protest.
