All but one of the defendants sentenced in Fort Worth courtrooms pleaded guilty to charges related to the shooting outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas last July 4. They each were sentenced to between nearly two and 15 years in prison.
The same judges have already handed down harsher sentences to eight people who were convicted at trial, including a former Marine reservist who received a 100-year prison term.
The U.S. Justice Department alleges the shooting was carried out by members of the leftist terrorist group antifa.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor called the protest an “assault on democracy” before he and another judge handed down lengthy prison sentences last week to eight others who were convicted on terrorism charges.
The six defendants who did not stand trial had pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. One of them testified at the earlier trial that he spray-painted a guard shack and vehicles in the parking lot.
The seventh defendant, Ines Soto, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted of providing material support to terrorists, riot and explosives.
Prosecutors told jurors at trial that the group’s actions — including bringing firearms, first aid kits and wearing body armor — signaled nefarious intent.
Benjamin Song, the former U.S. Marine reservist who was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, and seven others received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years. Some of them, including Song, have filed notices of appeal.
