What began as an anti-ICE demonstration outside a Texas detention center on Independence Day 2025 ended with a police officer shot, a former Marine reservist on the run, dozens of arrests, terrorism-related prosecutions and prison sentences stretching for decades.
In a detailed breakdown of the July 4, 2025, incident at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, the host of the bodycam channel Midwest Safety said the group initially arrived for what participants described as a “noise demonstration,” but the situation changed rapidly as protesters set off fireworks, damaged property and fled when local police arrived.
The most serious turn came when authorities say Benjamin Song, a 32-year-old former Marine Corps reservist, opened fire with a rifle, striking Alvarado police Lt. Thomas Gross near the shoulder and neck area. Song escaped that night, while other protesters were detained in the surrounding neighborhood.
A Protest Quickly Turns Into A Police Emergency
According to Midwest Safety, the group was dropped off near the detention center and divided into smaller groups, with some protesters setting off fireworks while another person vandalized buildings and ICE vehicles by spray-painting them and damaging lights.
Two unarmed employees approached the activity as personnel inside the facility called 911.
“Somebody’s trying to get in,” one caller told the dispatcher while asking officers to hurry.
When local police arrived, most of the demonstrators began running.
Bodycam footage captured officers shouting commands and trying to determine where the fleeing protesters had gone, moments before gunfire erupted.
An officer then reported that Gross had been hit.
“I’m hit,” Gross said in the chaotic aftermath, telling another officer that the round had struck his back near his upper right shoulder.
Midwest Safety said Gross was later airlifted for treatment but released from the hospital within hours, and he eventually became one of the federal government’s primary witnesses in the case.
Officers Find Guns, Armor And Tactical Gear
As officers established a perimeter, they began stopping groups of people dressed largely in dark clothing in the neighborhood surrounding the detention center.
Several of those detained were carrying firearms, according to the bodycam footage, while police also found ballistic equipment, magazines, trauma supplies and additional guns in vehicles.
One officer, looking through the equipment, described the scene as appearing to be a “straight coordinated terror attack” on the detention facility.
Another detained man told police that the plan had been simply “to make some noise,” while denying that he had supplied the weapons officers were finding.
The amount of equipment recovered became a major part of the later prosecution.
Midwest Safety said authorities ultimately recovered 11 firearms, all of which had been legally purchased. Four were connected to Song, and one rifle recovered near the shooting scene had been fitted with a legally modified binary trigger that could increase its rate of fire.
Investigators also found 11 spent 5.56 mm shell casings near Song’s firearm.
The existence of legally owned firearms does not by itself establish criminal intent, but combined with the shooting, tactical equipment and communications recovered later, prosecutors argued that the group’s conduct went far beyond an ordinary protest.
One Protester Insisted It Was Supposed To Be Peaceful
During the search of the surrounding area, officers encountered another participant who initially identified herself as Megan Morris.
She told police she had joined what she believed would be a peaceful protest and said she ran after becoming frightened when the situation escalated.
“I thought it would be tame,” she said, according to the footage, adding that people began spray-painting and smashing things.
She repeatedly described herself as a peaceful protester and said she did not support the administration, but denied expecting the night to turn violent.
Officers suspected she might actually be Autumn Hill, although Midwest Safety said Hill had left the demonstration before the shooting itself.
Hill later gave an interview defending the original purpose of the gathering.
“We did what’s called a noise demonstration, which is a pretty typical form of protest,” Hill said.
She explained that the goal, from her perspective, was to make enough noise for detainees inside the facility to know protesters were outside supporting them.
“My goal was to let the people inside, the detainees, know, hey, we’re here,” she said. “You haven’t been forgotten.”
That distinction became central to the defense arguments later. Several defendants and their supporters maintained that they had gone to participate in political protest rather than terrorism and did not know a shooting would occur.
Song Escapes And Triggers A Massive Manhunt
While police detained other participants, Song remained at large.
Midwest Safety said investigators later determined that he initially hid in a field near the detention facility before contacting friends for help escaping.
Cellphone records allegedly showed his device continuing to connect with towers near the facility before later appearing in Dallas and then going dark.
Over the following week, investigators arrested people accused of helping Song move between locations or conceal evidence.
One of those arrests involved Daniel Sanchez Estrada, whose wife, Maricela Rueda, had been arrested following the protest.
Authorities monitored a jail call in which Rueda asked family members to deal with property and belongings, and Sanchez Estrada was later charged with offenses related to concealing material, despite not having attended the demonstration itself.
Song was eventually arrested by the FBI at a Dallas apartment after more than a week on the run.
The charges against him were extensive, including riot-related offenses, material support for terrorism, explosives-related conspiracy charges, attempted murder of federal officers or employees and firearm offenses tied to crimes of violence.
Messages Become Key Evidence At Trial
Midwest Safety said investigators recovered Signal communications that prosecutors used to argue the confrontation had been planned more seriously than defendants claimed.
One set of messages reportedly showed Rueda and Song discussing bringing rifles hours before the demonstration.
According to the channel, Song believed multiple rifles might make responding officers back away.
That evidence became especially damaging because it gave prosecutors something more substantial than black clothing, political materials or the mere presence of firearms.
The broader terrorism case remained controversial, however, because defendants disputed the government’s characterization of them as part of an organized “antifa cell,” and several maintained that their intention had been protest rather than violence.
Those competing interpretations matter. Political protest, even angry or provocative protest, is protected activity, while coordinated violence against officers plainly is not; the difficult legal question was how far responsibility extended to people who did not fire a weapon or, in some cases, were not present when shots were fired.
Federal juries ultimately sided with prosecutors.
Decades In Prison Follow The Demonstration
Midwest Safety said nine defendants who took their cases to trial were convicted, while several others pleaded guilty and received reduced sentences after cooperating with investigators.
Hill, despite leaving before the shooting, was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.
Sanchez Estrada, who did not attend the demonstration, received 30 years.
Song was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 100 years.
Other defendants who went to trial received decades-long federal sentences, while some defendants who cooperated received substantially less time.
The channel said 22 people were eventually arrested in connection with the protest, shooting or efforts to help Song evade authorities, and some defendants also continued facing state charges after their federal cases.
Taken together, the penalties turned what participants described as a political demonstration into one of the most consequential nights of their lives.
There is room to debate how broadly terrorism laws should be applied to people surrounding an event in which one participant commits violence, particularly where some defendants deny knowledge of any violent plan. But the shooting of Gross, the recovered weapons and tactical gear, and the messages prosecutors presented gave the government a case that juries ultimately accepted.
For Song, the consequences were the clearest: a rifle fired during a protest led to a wounded police officer, a weeklong manhunt and a century-long prison sentence.
For the others, the case became a warning that simply being part of a group can carry enormous legal consequences when prosecutors persuade a jury that the group’s actions were coordinated and connected to violence, even when individual participants insist that they believed they were there only to protest.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
