119: What We Know About the Prairieland 'Antifa' Trials [Preview]

From Posting Through It by Jared Holt and Michael Edison Hayden

July 2, 2026 · 5 min · Season 2 · Episode 119

About this episode

Mike and Jared discuss the sentencing outcomes of the Prairieland 'antifa' trials and the implications of the judge's decisions.

For access to the full episode, subscribe to our Patreon: patreon.com/postingthroughit --- Mike and Jared break down the recent sentencing in the Prairieland "antifa" trials, wherein 450 years were handed down across eight defendants who attended an anti-ICE protest outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on July 4, 2025. The guys walk through what happened — a noise demonstration, fireworks, graffiti, and Benjamin Song firing 11 shots from a wooded area, hitting a law enforcement officer, before his gun jammed. One defendant got 30 years for moving a box of zines after his wife's arrest. Another got 50 years for sitting in a nearby car. Prosecutors pointed to possession of anarchist literature, use of Signal, and wearing black as evidence of a terrorist conspiracy. Then there's Judge Reed O'Connor, a Federalist Society fixture who stated from the bench that he was imposing maximum sentences to send a message to people who share the defendants' ideology. O'Connor has become the go-to judge for far-right causes, including Elon Musk's dubious lawsuit against Media Matters. He's the man behind these sentences — an outcome that, predictably, delighted Andy Ngo…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mike, Jared

Topics covered

Prairieland trials
anti-ICE protest
sentencing
terrorist conspiracy
anarchist literature
far-right judicial actions

Keywords

Prairieland
antifa
sentencing
protest
Judge Reed O'Connor
terrorism
anarchist literature
ICE

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Federalist Society, Media Matters

Places: Alvarado, Texas