Reproduced below is a piece from a November 17, 2025 publication from The Worker.
The Worker conducted an interview with a supporter of the Dallas/Fort Worth Support Committee (unaffiliated with The Worker), which has been organizing in defense of the anti-ICE activists in connection with a protest outside the Prairieland Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Alvarado, Texas. The demonstrators face trumped up domestic terrorism charges, with the case serving as a testing grounds for the Trump administration’s new “Antifa” executive order targeting anti-imperialist activism with terrorism charges. The interview has been edited for publication.
1. Tell us about the latest arrests in connection to the Prairieland case and the “Antifa” charges. What is the significance of these charges?
The Prairieland Case has become a sprawling and dangerous example of the new face of repression. The case stems from a noise demonstration on July 4th outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Center, which is in a small town south of Fort Worth. At that demo there was allegedly an exchange of gunfire between a police officer and one person at the scene in which the officer was injured. Now 18 people are facing life-altering charges and the highest levels of the Trump administration are using this case as an example of “ANTIFA” terrorism. Importantly, the federal case began moving three months after the arrests immediately following the now infamous NPSM-7 declaration.
2. What do you know about the conditions and treatment of the prisoners?
It’s clear that the state is attempting to break defendants’ will to fight by putting them through grueling pre-trial detention. For the first three months while in Johnson County Detention Center (the jail for the county where the arrests occurred), defendants were held in isolation, denied adequate medical care, subject to invasive strip searches at all hours (including at 2am), and held in unsanitary conditions. One defendant was even put in a cell with feces smeared on the wall, given cleaning supplies and told to clean it up.
Since October, defendants have been taken into federal custody and many of them were moved, including to a jail over two hours away, making visits from family extremely difficult. Defendants have little chance of being released before trial because of exorbitant bonds, most $10 million and some as high as $15 million. Some defendants have petitioned for these to be reduced, but for one who succeeded at this it was only reduced to $1.5 million.
3. Why is this case so important to support, particularly in relation to free speech, association, and assembly?
The state is only claiming one person fired a weapon, but have created an elaborate narrative of an underground terroristic “cell” of “ANTIFA” planning an ambush. They have presented no direct evidence of this claim and instead are presenting political speech and beliefs as evidence. As a result, things like some defendants running a print shop to print radical literature, or private signal messages discussing the limitations of protest marshals are being presented in open court as evidence of criminality. We should assume this approach is not isolated to this case, but will be extended and patterned across the country as more people take brave acts to defy ICE and Trump.
4. There seems to be a conspicuous absence of broad support for the Prairieland defendants from certain groups, why do you think this is? What would you say to people who are squeamish about denouncing the repression against the defendants due to accusations of violence?
I think the underlying reason is fear. As the stakes and intensity of state repression have increased, people have to make choices, and many so far have decided to try and avoid being caught in the cross hairs. This case in particular has been controversial because it does appear likely that a police officer was injured by gunfire (though he only spent a few hours in the hospital and is reportedly now back at work), and a number firearms were found in searches of people’s cars and homes (which is protected by the Second Amendment). Moreover, given that all the defendants that were allegedly present on July 4th are still in custody it has been extremely difficult to get compelling counter-narratives of the events out publicly.
However, there has been a shift in the mood of sympathy in the last few months as popular resistance has grown and the mendacious and unreliable nature of the Trump DOJ has become mainstream knowledge. We have seen more skepticism of the official narrative and more understanding of this case as a key precedent for anti-ICE protesting and other forms of dissent. This new momentum would not have been possible without the staunch support from organizations like the National Lawyers Guild, which has been championing our cause from early on.
5. What can people do to support the Prairieland prisoners?
There are a number of ways folks can support the defendants. At this point we still have a big need for fundraising to help pay for lawyers. The State of Texas seems intent on continuing to prosecute the cases even though the federal case is moving forward. That means we need two sets of lawyers for most of the defendants. Private attorneys have ranged from $50,000 to $100,000. Not to mention the ongoing needs of defendants’ loved ones to help pay mortgages, car payments, and support children so that the defendants have lives to come home to. We have an online fundraiser and we encourage everyone who’s able to contribute: https://www.givesendgo.com/supportdfwprotestors/
The second way folks can help is by writing to the defendants. This will be a long fight and we need to do everything we can to help give folks the strength they’ll need to win. Hearing from supporters far and wide is a huge help with that. Since these folks are pre-trial and the case is extremely political we ask people to be careful with what they write, but talking about all the beautiful things in the world goes a long way. To find out how to write the defendants and hear more about each of them please see our website: https://dfwdefendants.wordpress.com/
Finally, we ask people just to help get the word out. So far, this case has not gotten the level of attention we think it deserves. Talking to people about how unbelievable the official narrative is and how the government is going after people for their political beliefs will help not only grow support for the defendants but also deepen the resistance to the authoritarian turn in American politics.
We must use organizing against state repression as a way to grow and strengthen the broader movement. That applies to this case as much as any other. We encourage people to use this support to build solidarity and spread the spirit of resistance. Hold a letter writing, put on a benefit concert, or make stickers and post them up around town. The defendants in this case are believers in freedom and resistance to ICE’s kidnappings off the street. We must use every opportunity we can to honor that cause and build a movement for the kind of world we want to live in!
Photo: “Ice Pig” painted on the side of a vehicle at the Prairieland Detention Center as part of the anti-ICE demonstration.
