Fort Worth, Texas - Nine people were convicted on Friday of providing material support for terrorism in a Texas case with major implications for protests against ICE.

A federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas, found the defendants guilty of various charges including rioting, using weapons and explosives, obstruction, and most importantly, providing material support for terrorism.

Benjamin Song, who was described by prosecutors as the leader of a supposed "North Texas Antifa Cell," was convicted of the additional charge of attempted murder of a police officer and could face life in prison.

Seven other defendants pleaded guilty last year to one count of providing material support to terrorists in connection with the July 4, 2025 protest at an ICE detention facility in Prarieland, Texas, amid President Donald Trump's violent mass deportation program.

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Trump signed an order last year designating Antifa a domestic terrorist organization in a move widely slammed as criminalizing opposition to his far-right agenda.

Officials said the Texas case was the first "targeting a coordinated group of Antifa cell members engaged in violent criminal activity."

But Antifa, a shorthand term for "anti-fascist," is a loose movement of left-wing activists that experts say is a political ideology than an organized group, and is aimed at confronting the fascism through direct action.

According to the Guardian, the Justice Department's case relied almost entirely on circumstantial evidence, such as the defendants' all-black clothing and their use of Signal – a widely-available app – to coordinate protests.

"Everything about this trial from beginning to end has proven what we have said all along: this is a sham trial, built on political persecution and ideological attacks coming from the top," the DFW Support Committee, set up in solidarity with those accused, said in a statement.

We have a long journey ahead of us to continue fighting these charges along with the state level charges. What happens here sets the tone for what’s to come. We are here and we won’t give up.