United States of America v. Ines Solo, et al.

Fort Worth, Texas, criminal defense lawyers represent the Defendants charged with providing material support to terrorists in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2339.

Reported by: Kent Morlan

Ines Soto was sentenced to 50 years in prison;
Joy Gibson was sentenced to 15 years in prison;
Rebecca Morgan was sentenced to 15 years in prison;
Lynette Sharp was sentenced to over 9 years (110 months) in prison;
John Thomas was sentenced to over 9 years (110 months) in prison;
Seth Sikes was sentenced to 6 years in prison; and
Nathan Baumann was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

the defendants were members of a North Texas Antifa Cell, part of a larger militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to an ideology that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law. An expert testifying in the government’s case told the jury that ANTIFA’s coordinated efforts involve obstructing Federal law through organized riots, violent assaults, and armed confrontations with law enforcement officers, increasingly targeting agents and facilities related to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement in opposition to the agency’s deportation actions.

Evidence at trial revealed that most of the ANTIFA Cell involved in the Prairieland attack looked to Benjamin Song as a leader. Song acquired firearms that he distributed to co-defendants and recruited members at gun ranges and combat sessions he conducted, as well as from various ideologically aligned groups. For example, defendants Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto, and Savanna Batten were part of a group that created and distributed insurrectionary materials called “zines,” according to trial evidence.

Trial testimony reflected that, late at night on July 4, 2025, at least eleven of the defendants rioted and attacked the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was using to house illegal aliens awaiting deportation. The defendants dressed in “black bloc”—dark clothing with head and face coverings that concealed their identities—designed to hide each individual’s identity but also to aid and abet those members engaged in illegal acts by making members indistinguishable from one another to law enforcement. Evidence introduced at trial revealed that the defendants brought eleven firearms, body armor, and eleven military-grade first aid kits with tourniquets and other items to treat gunshot wounds to the scene of the attack. Many of these items were introduced by the government as exhibits. Additionally, DNA and fingerprint evidence linked many of the defendants to the items at the scene, and evidence obtained on phone locations supported that those who participated in the attack all turned off their phones or placed them in Faraday bags to prevent tracking on the night of the attack.

Joy Gibson: Pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, as amended, it is the judgment of the Court that the defendant, Joy Gibson, in 4:25-CR-00282-O(02), is hereby committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons for a period of ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) months. This sentence shall run concurrently with any future sentence which may be imposed in Case No. DC-F202500918, filed in the 413th Judicial District Court of Johnson County. The Court did not order a fine because the defendant does not have the financial resources or future earning capacity to pay a fine. It is further ordered that the defendant pay a special assessment of $100. Restitution is ordered in the amount of $4,408.95. Supervised Release is Ordered for a term of TWO (2) years. The Court makes a non-binding recommendation to the BOP that Defendant, if appropriately classified, be allowed to serve his term of imprisonment as near as geographically possible to an FCI facility in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. The Defendant is remanded to the custody of the US Marshal.