Press Conference and Demonstration Supporting Prairieland Defendants To Be Held Outside Courthouse Today After Closing Arguments
FORT WORTH, TX – In a surprise move, the defense rested their case yesterday without calling any witnesses. After ten full days of the prosecution’s case, it was expected that the defense would take at least until the end of the week to present their case, but lawyers abruptly moved for acquittal on all counts. The jury is expected to be sequestered for deliberation as early as today or tomorrow. The verdict is highly anticipated by many, who see the trial’s outcome as precedent-setting in the government’s aggressive approach toward political dissent.
Supporters of the Prairieland defendants will gather for a demonstration at 4pm and a press conference at 5pm, both at the southeast corner of Burk Burnett Park, across the street from the courthouse.
What: Press conference in support of Prairieland defendants
When: Wednesday, March 11 at 5pm
Where: SE corner of Burk Burnett Park, next to Courthouse at 501 W. 10th St, Fort Worth
As the government wrapped up its case yesterday, Judge Mark Pittman questioned the prosecution’s need to cite Antifa in relation to the defendants’ charges. Prejudicial statements related to the Prairieland cases have been made repeatedly by officials at the highest levels of government, undermining the defendants’ ability to get a fair trial. The Trump administration has publicly claimed that the Prairieland case is the first legal case against Antifa, following the administration’s declaration of Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.
The prosecution’s expert witness on Antifa, Kyle Shideler, testified Monday to his role in crafting a definition of Antifa for the federal government. Shideler works for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at Center for Security Policy, an anti-Muslim think tank that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. During the first Trump administration, Center for Security Policy came under scrutiny after the organization issued a report claiming that “Sharia law” was the biggest domestic threat to the United States. These claims have since been widely criticized by mainstream and progressive experts as exaggerated and inaccurate.
Supporters are hopeful for a favorable verdict, given that the prosecution’s witnesses—including its key cooperating co-defendants—echoed the defense’s case. “I’m still pretty stunned at how the witnesses either agreed that this wasn’t a planned attack, or kept contradicting themselves,” said Lydia Koza, wife of defendant Autumn Hill. “At the end of the day, how can you say these people are guilty when the evidence is random stuff like literature and first aid kits, and the cooperating witnesses keep forgetting the script the prosecution wrote for them?”
While the federal trial is ending, a majority of the Prairieland defendants still face state-level charges and pending state trials. All but one of the defendants remain imprisoned due to state-level bonds of up to $15 million. It is expected that, even if all defendants are acquitted federally, they will remain in pretrial detention until their bonds are reduced or their state trials take place. Regardless of the federal trial’s verdict, supporters will continue to stand in solidarity with their friends and loved ones until they are all free. “This nightmare isn’t over for us,” said Amber Lowrey, sister of defendant Savanna Batten. “I wish we could all go home tomorrow, but we have to keep fighting for our loved ones to get good lawyers, fair trials, and humane treatment in these horrible jails.”
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, eight months later. Alvarado police arrested ten people in the area, and a manhunt ensued in the subsequent days for another defendant. Nine more defendants were arrested in the days, weeks, and months following the protest.