Lt. Thomas Gross’Testimony undermined the government’s argument that the noise protest on July 4, 2025 was an “ambush” and a “planned attack”
FORT WORTH, TX – Opening arguments and testimony from the Alvarado police officer at the center of the controversial Prairieland ICE Detention Center case marked the first day of trial against nine defendants. The federal government offered no new or compelling arguments in their opening statement and relied heavily on First Amendment-protected activity to make their case. However, during cross-examinination, Alvarado police officer Lt. Thomas Gross revealed information that undermines the government’s narrative that the noise demonstration on July 4, 2025 was an “ambush” and that police were the targets of a “planned attack.”
During today’s proceedings, the defense team was able to cross-examine the Alvarado police officer Lt. Thomas Gross, who was injured at the scene. This is the first time Lt. Gross has spoken publicly since the incident. He described a hectic scene with few details, claiming to see only a small handful of male individuals, despite multiple women defendants in the case.
On cross-examination, Lt. Gross said he spent between 2-4 hours in the hosptial before being released, and could not explain why he appears to have been shot from the back despite also claiming to have been facing the person who the government alleges fired at him. Gross could not say who drew their weapon first, but he admitted drawing his weapon without any obvious threat, stating instead that at the time he arrived on the scene the only crimes he was aware of possibly being committed were “criminal mischief.” At one point, in response to questions from defense attorney Phillip Hayesl Gross admitted that he was pointing his firearm at a fleeing person’s back before encountering the individual holding a rifle. This testimonoy seemed to contradict the government’s claim that the police were ambushed.
The Prairieland case has drawn significant attention due to the use of First Amendment-protected political literature as evidence of the alleged criminal conspiracies. This concern was underscored again today by the key role that literature played in the prosecution’s opening arguments. Remarkably, a printing press found in a raid on the home of defendants Liz and Ines Soto was one of the only aspects of the government’s opening statements linking them to the broader case. The government claimed that the use of this printing press to create “zines” constitutes criminal activity.
Access issues continued to plague the Northern District Courthouse, with family members prevented multiple times from attending trial. In one instance, a family member of a Prairieland defendant was removed from the courtroom after seeming to fall asleep during the proceedings. This had been preceded by an incident at the begining of the day when Lydia Kosza, wife of defendant Autumn Hill, was removed from the courtroom when a section of seats was cleared for law enforcement. Kosza was only able to reenter after another attendee volunteered to leave.
The nine defendants, Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Daniel “Des” Rolando Sanchez Estrada, Benjamin “Champagne” Song, Elizabeth Soto, and Ines Soto were indicted in November on a variety of charges including riot, discharging a firearm, attempted murder, material support for terrorism, and conspiracy to conceal documents, all stemming from a noise demonstration in support of immigrant detainees being held at the Prairieland ICE Detentaion Center in Alvarado, Texas.
Trial continues on Wednesday February 25, and is expected to last up to three weeks.
The Prairieland cases, involving 19 people charged with both state and federal charges, stem from a noise demonstration in solidarity with detainees at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4, 2025. After the protest, an officer with the Alvarado Police Department allegedly became involved in an exchange of gunfire soon after arrival. The officer allegedly sustained minor injuries, and was reportedly released from the hospital shortly afterwards. Authorities have still not provided hospital records to justify these claims, seven months later. Alvarado police arrested ten people in the area, and a manhunt ensued in the subsequent days for another defendant. Eight more defendants were arrested in the days and weeks following the protest.