DALLAS (AP) — In a noteworthy legal outcome, five individuals pleaded guilty on Wednesday to terrorism-related charges in a federal court. They were accused of supporting an antifa faction involved in a July shooting incident that wounded a police officer outside a Texas immigration detention center. The Justice Department's charges follow President Donald Trump's signing of an order that designated the antifa movement as a domestic terrorist organization, a group Trump has directly blamed for political violence.
FBI Director Kash Patel indicated that these charges represent the first time a material support to terrorism charge has targeted individuals associated with antifa. The police officer was seriously injured during an ambush on July 4 near the Prairieland Detention Center, where an antifa group reportedly unleashed gunfire and fireworks aimed at the facility.
Each of the five individuals—Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Seth Sikes, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas—pleaded guilty to a single count of providing material support to terrorists, with the potential of facing a shared maximum sentence of 15 years in prison at sentencing. Sharp's lawyer, Erin Kelley, emphasized that this plea represents just the beginning of a lengthy process before sentencing occurs, while other attorneys for the defendants did not respond immediately to requests for comments.
The shooting incident forms part of a violent backdrop against a backdrop of heightened deportations under the Trump administration's policies. In a related series of events, just days later, a man with an assault rifle attacked federal agents at a border facility in McAllen, also injuring an officer, before being shot and killed by authorities. Ongoing investigations and legal proceedings continue against additional individuals charged in connection with the initial shooting.
FBI Director Kash Patel indicated that these charges represent the first time a material support to terrorism charge has targeted individuals associated with antifa. The police officer was seriously injured during an ambush on July 4 near the Prairieland Detention Center, where an antifa group reportedly unleashed gunfire and fireworks aimed at the facility.
Each of the five individuals—Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Seth Sikes, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas—pleaded guilty to a single count of providing material support to terrorists, with the potential of facing a shared maximum sentence of 15 years in prison at sentencing. Sharp's lawyer, Erin Kelley, emphasized that this plea represents just the beginning of a lengthy process before sentencing occurs, while other attorneys for the defendants did not respond immediately to requests for comments.
The shooting incident forms part of a violent backdrop against a backdrop of heightened deportations under the Trump administration's policies. In a related series of events, just days later, a man with an assault rifle attacked federal agents at a border facility in McAllen, also injuring an officer, before being shot and killed by authorities. Ongoing investigations and legal proceedings continue against additional individuals charged in connection with the initial shooting.
