On July 4th, around a dozen people gathered to make a display of noise and fireworks to express solidarity with immigrants and ICE detainees who face threat of deportation under Trump’s sweeping anti-immigration crackdown. The state’s narrative about what happened that night is dubious and full of inconsistencies. After the demonstration, police claim that two people exchanged gunfire with correctional officers and one Alvarado patrol officer on a nearby street. Subsequently, police arrested everyone in the area and the state and feds have charged these 10 people with terrorism and attempted murder, respectively. 

Two days later, an 11th person was arrested after receiving a phone call from a loved one in the jail. He was arrested by FBI in Denton, Texas with a box of zines in their car. FBI have turned him over to ICE in order to jeopardize his green card status. Ongoing raids of several other homes across Texas have created hardship for defendants’ friends and families: agents deployed flashbang grenades, caused extensive damage, and detained spouses, family members and housemates without cause. In one instance, federal agents tackled the adult child of a defendant and put a bag over their head before arresting them and transporting them to jail. “I was terrified, I had no idea what was going on,” the child later said. During this interrogation, agents offered this person monetary bribes in exchange for information, which of course were refused. Police also attempted to extort them by offering to “get rid of a warrant” if they cooperated with the law enforcement investigation.

What happened July 4th was a normal protest, and regardless of what transpired that night, it’s clear that the scale and aggression of the police response is a fear tactic to send a message not only to DFW but across the country of how this administration will treat anyone standing against their rising authoritarianism.

At this point, 17 people in total have been arrested. This includes partners and roommates who likely never set foot in Alvarado. Local legal experts explained that normally in this district, a defendant facing federal charges will receive a first court appearance within one to three days, whereupon appointment of court-appointed counsel, release or bail conditions, and next court dates are all addressed.  There has been no explanation why these normal practices are not being followed regarding these defendants. Meanwhile, the legal proceedings have not progressed on either the state or federal charges, leaving the arrestees in ongoing detainment and deprivation of their constitutionally guaranteed legal representation.

Everyday Texans face increasing repression by both the federal and state governments. Those on the front lines are especially being met with this repression despite our constitutional right to protest and dissent. Instead of listening to us, the government is arresting protestors, creating false narratives about their actions, and wholly ignoring their own obligation to due process.

Acknowledging this, we have formed a committee of loved ones, friends and comrades of defendants who are committed to supporting them through the legal process and have experience with legal support and anti-repression organizing.

17 of our loved ones still sit in jail, many of them struggling to obtain legal counsel because the public defender assignment process has been obstructed by a seemingly deliberate and targeted array of red tape and outright denial. The framing of the case by the federal government should worry all of us. The glaring inconsistencies in the official narrative and the alarmist accusations are a clear attempt to bolster the Trump administration’s claims that the United States is on the verge of chaos, and to excuse a dramatic increase in militarized police action. This, in turn, will almost certainly be used to justify sweeping expansion of repression not only of popular movements but all political activity in opposition to Trump and his regime. As such, what is happening to these 17 people should be a concern for anyone who does not want to see this country descend further into authoritarianism.

The Trump administration has a consistent record of brazenly lying and distorting facts to advance its political narratives. In particular, they actively stoke the flames of far-right conspiracy theories that fed Trump’s rise to power. Time and again these narratives have been proven false and dangerous. 

These 17 people are some of the first arrested under this unbelievable narrative, but we should expect this sort of repression to spread further and wider. Trump does not distinguish between these defendants, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialists of America, 50501, or anyone else standing against him. They are coming for undocumented migrants, they are coming for supporters of Palestine, they are coming for anyone who objects to ICE’s violence.

The first months of this adminstration have been a disaster. People have been kidnapped in broad daylight by masked agents and sent to hellish prison camps in other countries, with detention centers like Prarieland as stopping points along the way. Natural disasters have killed hundreds with little warning or care from the government – even now we’re still trying to count the losses from flooding in Central Texas. Decades of advancement in public health have been eviscerated: measles killed more children in Texas in the last month than in the last 30 years. Transgender people are being erased from our society. US-made bombs are slaughtering millions around the world. Black and Indigenous histories are being scrubbed from official state narratives in an attempt to cage the public’s imagination, shackle the people, and steal the future. The list goes on. People see the nightmare that is unfolding, and the state is furiously looking for ways to distract, confuse, immobilize, and terrify. In this context, it should be clear that these recent criminal charges in Alvarado, Texas, are a dangerous and unconscionable stunt in service of this goal. 

We are all affected by these disasters already, but criminalization of protest means that we risk arrest and worse as the state moves to crush everyone under its power.

However, the people of this country will not accept authoritarian rule. From the initial waves of protest, resistance and antagonism have generalized and deepened. It has involved not only elected officials and formal organizations, but more importantly, millions of ordinary people taking bold action to protect their communities and reclaim their autonomy. This spreading resistance has been met with violent state repression such as deployment of active duty military on the streets of Los Angeles and the arrest of sitting judges and US senators. Now the state is attempting to ruin the lives of 17 people and their communities in North Texas. It is clear that this systematic demolition of our freedoms cannot be stopped by appeasement and capitulation. Those who face this state terror deserve our support, not silence. 

This is a historic moment; the future is yet unwritten. What we know for sure is that the best chance for all of us to live full and free lives is to join together and be brave. 

We in the DFW Support Committee have no choice but to push forward and fight for those we care deeply about who are currently sitting in jail. To the rest of you, we call on you to join us in our support. We will be releasing future updates and statements about concrete actions people can take. The first and most important action today is raising funds so that these 17 people have the best legal defense possible.