Federal Judge Cites Political Views Like Anti-ICE Beliefs, Opposition to Immigration Policies to Impose Maximum Sentence Against Prairieland Trial Defendant
FORT WORTH, TX – Additional Prairieland defendants were sentenced in federal court today, a week after shocking 30-100 year prison sentences were levied against eight trial defendants and three months after their convictions on a variety of federal charges, including riot, material support for terrorists, and possession and conspiracy to use explosives. In sentencing trial defendant Ines Soto, Chief US District Judge Reed O’Connor cited Soto’s anti-ICE beliefs and opposition to the government’s immigration policies to levy the maximum possible sentence of 50 years to be served consecutively.
Even defendants who had no previous criminal history received the maximum possible sentence. The seven defendants sentenced today include Prairieland trial defendant Ines Soto, two defendants who took non-cooperating plea deals—Joy “Rowan” Gibson, Rebecca Morgan—and four defendants who testified for the government. Each of their consecutive federal terms are as follows:
- Ines Soto: 50 years
- Joy “Rowan” Gibson: 15 years
- Rebecca Morgan: 15 years
- Lynette Sharp: 110 months
- John Thomas: 110 months
- Seth Sikes: 6 years
- Nathan Baumann: 22 months
Notably, Nathan Baumann received a sentence nearly thirty times shorter than most trial defendants, even though he is responsible for most if not all of the vandalism that occurred on the night of the July 4, 2025 noise demonstration—from which stem both the government’s allegations of terrorism and designation of the demonstration as a riot. Moreover, Baumann was unknown to any of the other defendants prior to the demonstration and he had the least political affiliations cited in trial testimony, bolstering many supporters’ claims that the sentences are meant to punish defendants for their political ideas more than their actions.
Since last week’s sentencing, a number of Prairieland defendants have made public statements about their cases and sentences:
“The weight of the sentences that have been handed down is crushing but we should not be surprised,” said Ines Soto in a prepared statement. Soto was one of the defendants sentenced today. “The government has shown it is willing to separate loved ones across borders, cage people in squalid detention centers, bring violence into loving neighborhoods, and gun people down in the streets,” continued Soto. “It is only through our collective efforts that we will get through this. I trust that everyone will find ways to contribute to and expand these efforts how they can.”
“The whole process of our prosecution and trial was one long gauntlet of terror after terror, designed to bully us into false confessions, and to drive the jury to abandon reason and condemn nine innocents,” said Prairieland trial defendant Autumn Hill, who was sentenced last week to 50 years. “I do not believe in harbouring hate or terrorizing anyone,” continued Hill. “I believe in Love. Do not fear, Love, and trust in the Love of your fellow creatures. Fear Not is the encouragement of the angels. Be Strong and Courageous is the instruction of the Most High in scripture. Where there is Love, there is no Fear.”
“The fictitious narrative presented by the government doesn’t exist in reality,” said Elizabeth Soto, the wife of Ines Soto, in a prepared statement. Elizabeth Soto was sentenced last week to 50 years in prison. “It is their design created to criminalize people for protesting, for not conforming,” continued Elizabeth Soto. “We are living through a moment in time that will affect everyone in the future. If this conviction is allowed to stand, it will affect countless others,” continued Elizabeth Soto. “To the world, we cannot let this stand. For the people who come after us, we must never give up. We will go home.”
“This conviction is the continuation of a campaign of terror and violence that has been allowed to imprison people speaking out against the immigration policies of this administration,” said Savanna Batten, who was sentenced last week to 50 years. “To my friends, to Renée Good, to Alex Pretti, and to the people being held in detention centers across the country, I have the very same urgent message that compelled me to Prairieland that night with a heavy heart: ‘We see you. We love you. You are not forgotten.’”
“A wide reaching dragnet has been cast, hoping to pull as many people in as possible to ‘set an example’ for anyone who even dares to believe in a better world for all of us,” said Prairieland defendant Janette Goering, who has not been tried yet and is facing State charges. “Personally, I am terrified. It’s hard not to be,” continued Goering. “But, that doesn’t mean I am going to give up. And neither will my codefendants, nor countless others in this struggle.”
The unprecedented sentences imposed against Prairieland defendants today and last week have garnered widespread public condemnation. ”These sentences are a travesty and totally unjustified, but that’s the point,” said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib last week over social media. “Americans hate the fascist Trump regime, so the only way they can try to cling to power is brute force,” continued Congresswoman Tlaib. “NSPM-7 is a grave threat to all of us and more bullshit ’terrorism’ charges like these are coming.”
In a published statement made on social media earlier this week, Jane Fonda’s organization Committee for the First Amendment said, “Everyone should be alarmed that a man who carried a box of political pamphlets out of his parents’ house, who harmed no one, is going to prison for thirty years.”
“This case was strung together with conjecture and deceptive framing of events, and the government sought to use cooperating testimony as the glue,” said Lydia Koza, the wife of Prairieland defendant Autumn Hill. “When even that failed to make the case cohere, the government relied instead on the morale injury of putting defendants on the stand in chains,” continued Koza. “This case illustrates that non-cooperation is the best way to protect our communities and movements against state repression. If the government approaches you about informing, they probably have a weak case, if they have a case at all.”
The Prairieland cases have already taken a tremendous emotional and physical toll on the defendants, who have been imprisoned for nearly a year on exorbitant multi-million dollar State bonds. Rebecca Morgan, who is 24 years old and who was sentenced today to fifteen years in prison, suffered a heart attack in jail last month and was unconscious for at least 7 minutes before jail staff were able to shock her back to consciousness. Morgan was released back to the jail without sufficient care to avoid additional cardiac arrests or strokes and is not receiving a heart healthy diet.
The Prairieland cases, involving 22 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 arrived on the scene, quickly drawing his gun and pointing it at departing protesters. Shots were fired and the officer allegedly sustained minor injuries, but authorities have never provided hospital records to justify these claims. Alvarado police arrested ten people in the area, and a dozen more were arrested over the following several months.
Visit the Prairieland website for revealing information that debunks the dominant narratives which have been perpetuated by the government in its aim to criminalize anti-ICE resistance: https://prairielanddefendants.com