Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib thinks it’s “a travesty” nine Antifa terrorists were sentenced to long prison terms for attacking on an ICE facility last year, shooting one officer in the neck.
“These sentences are a travesty and totally unjustified, but that’s the point,” Tlaib posted to X on Tuesday, linking to a story from The Guardian detailing the case.
These sentences are a travesty and totally unjustified, but that's the point. Americans hate the fascist Trump regime, so the only way they can try to cling to power is brute force. NSPM-7 is a grave threat to all of us and more bullshit "terrorism" charges like these are coming.…
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 23, 2026
“Americans hate the fascist Trump regime, so they can cling to power is brute force,” wrote Tlaib, the only Palestinian in Congress. “NSPM-7 is a grave threat to all of us and more bullshit ‘terrorism’ charges like these are coming.”
NSPM-7 is in reference to a National Security Presidential Memorandum signed by President Donald Trump in September that directs federal agencies to investigate groups involved in domestic terrorism and organized political violence. The memorandum designated Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization.
NSPM-7 points to the “horrifying assassination of Charlie Kirk,” the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the 2022 attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and two attempted assassinations of Trump in a three-month period in 2024.
In Texas, nine Antifa activists were all found guilty of various crimes following a three-week jury trial in March that included 46 witnesses, 210 exhibits, and other evidence that detailed how the members of the North Texas Antifa Cell planned and carried out the violent attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado on July 4, 2025.
Those convicted were sentenced to a collective 450 years in prison Tuesday. They include Benjamin Hanil Song, who was sentenced to 100 years in prison; as well as Maricela Rueda – 70 years; Cameron Arnold – 50 years; Savanna Batten – 50 years; Zachary Evetts – 50 years; Bradford Morris – 50 years; Elizabeth Soto – 50 years; and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada – 30 years.
Seven others, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas, pleaded guilty prior to trial to one count of providing material support to terrorists and they will be sentenced on July 1.
According to the Department of Justice:
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 at the scene of the attack. … 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.
After ANTIFA Cell members arrived at the detention facility, they began shooting off and throwing fireworks (explosives) at the facility and vandalizing vehicles and a guard shack on Prairieland property. …
Witnesses testified that an Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911. When the officer began issuing commands to defendant Nathan Baumann, Benjamin Song can be heard on police bodycam video yelling, “get to the rifles!” and then he opened fire on the officers, striking the Alvarado police officer in the neck as the unarmed correctional officers ducked and ran for cover. Police arrested most of the Antifa Cell shortly after the attack, many near the scene. Benjamin Song escaped and remained at large with the help of others until his capture on July 15, 2025.
Trial evidence demonstrated that collectively, this ANTIFA Cell acquired over 50 firearms in the Fort Worth/Dallas area prior to July 4.
Tlaib’s X post Tuesday certainly isn’t the first time the Detroit Democrat has sided with terrorists or illegal immigrants over the folks working to keep Americans safe.
In April 2024, Tlaib was among three Michigan members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against a No U.S. Financing for Iran Act aimed at cutting off the country’s ability to finance terrorism following an attack on Israel.
That was around the same time she professed support for pro-Hamas activists who set up an encampment at the University of Michigan in an attempt to force school officials to divest from Israel. Many of those students are now facing federal charges for alleged threats against university officials, police, and Jewish organizations.
In March 2025, Tlaib was the lone nay vote in the House’s approval of the Subterranean Border Defense Act, a bipartisan bill focused on shutting down underground tunnels across the U.S.-Mexico border used to smuggle illegal immigrants, drugs, weapons, cash and other illegal activities.
Last summer, Tlaib backed legislation in the House to prohibit federal immigration agents from concealing their identity to protect themselves and their families from increasing attacks from groups like Antifa that have doxed and attacked ICE agents.
A week later, she spoke at a People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit that also featured convicted terrorists.
In March 2026, Tlaib joined students, faculty and staff for a walkout at Southwest Detroit’s Western International High School to protest ICE, telling those who attended “they’re coming after all of us.”
A month later, revelations surfaced that Tlaib funded her political campaigns with contributions from Salah Salem Sarsour, a criminal illegal alien from Jordan “suspected of funding terror organizations” and lying on immigration forms.
Sarsour, a longtime Palestinian activist and president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee – Wisconsin’s largest Islamic organization – had lived in the U.S. for over 32 years, but was arrested by ICE agents near his home in the Milwaukee area on March 30.
During his time in the United States, Sarsour was active in Democratic politics and fundraising, with public records showing he personally donated over $1,000 to Tlaib’s 2018 reelection campaign. According to the Denver Gazette, Sarsour also co-hosted a fundraiser for Tlaib with a nonprofit found liable by a federal jury in 2004 for financing Hamas’ slaying of American teenager, David Boim.
Sarsour, who was allegedly recruited by his brother-in-law to join the ranks of Hamas/Hezbollah fighters, was imprisoned by Palestinian authorities for his connections to terrorism. He was also convicted for throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli soldiers and attempting to illegally possess guns and ammunition.
According to DHS, these events led to the denial of his original U.S. immigrant visa application at the consulate in Jerusalem. Yet, Sarsour entered the U.S. anyway and obtained a green card by lying about his criminal history, according to DHS.
