instead of self-aggrandizing hopeful
narratives that promote fuiled dead-
end strategies, honest accountings of

on the ground situations are what's
needed. Dallas is not New York, it is

ot Seate it ot Porland, i gt

Published by hates cafe

Typeset in Garamond, TASA
Orbiter and Univers

Designed by post.chicanx

haters

pdf available on hater

“The Prsvicand case is a policcal repression cse stemming from a prorestin
soldariy wich ICE Detsinces that occurred an July 4t at he Praiiclind
Detencion Center in Alvarado, Texas, south of Fort Worth. There are currendly
18 defendans fcing ife-lcring sate nd fdera charges. All but one arc
il n cuscody being held on muli-million dollarbails and cnduring borific
condicions. The accusations of the government are absurd, and the police
csponse has been extreme, making it obvious that this s part o an cfor to
iminalize dissnt along wich the orher high proflecases in Spokane, Pordand,
and linois. It has repeatedly been used by the Tramp adiminiscration and is
llies 35 an example of vilence by "snif

What do we know?

* There s a noise demo held a the Prisicland Desention Center an July
th in solidrity with ICE dersinces,

« Inll 18 people have becn arested and charged wich a varity of crncs.
9 people e arested that night, and another was areested the next day
dring i on house, The spouse of one defendan was arrested and
charged with feeral obstruction o justice with the evidence of bo of
anarchisezines found in his car One person the police belicve to have
been at the procest was decained aficr 2 10 day manhunt involving the
eventual arese of others. One ofthose arested as e of the manunt
‘was charged with tampering with physica evidence for removing someone
from group chats

+ Loved ones have good ressons to belive the statcs naracve is ludicrous
bascd on ther knowledge of the defendanes and statements defendants
have made since sheie arrst.

+ As on November 131h, ten of the defendants have been combined onto a
single indictmens with a otalof welve charges. Seven othersare charges
separately on information,

What docs the sace allege?

* The stac alleges chat oward the cnd of the demonstrscon an individusl
fireda gun a an Alvarado police oficer. The officer was allegedly injured
i the neck and was rleased from the hospital within hours

* The prosccution aleges that this was coordinated ambush planned by
all those in avendance. The subjec of the manhunt and only accused
shooter Benjamin Song, i cimed to have been hidden by 1 number of
individusls

* The DO claims tha the defendants aee pare o a violent ideological
movement they cal “ancif” As evidence they cic zines, policcal theoric,
and many practices common for acivistssuch a using Signal, wearing
black, and ascrting thei ights when artested. They alio wse as cvidence
the prining press found in 2 defendants grage, which they used to print
books for small lef-wing preses.

- From the Support FAQ on dfefndants noblgsongrsourees
rairieland Detention Center, located just south of the Dallas-Fore Worth meteop-

lx, is one of ICE's newest detention facilcics. Holding kidnapped migrants and
Railiating their deportations allows ICE to carry ou the repression of the stae’s in-
ternal politcal enemies. For example,the Prairieland fciley detained Angel Espinosa
Villegas', an anarchist parcicipant of the George Floyd Uprising who vas deported to
Chill earler this year and as of this writing, e scill detains Leqaa Kordia®, a Palesin-
an participant of the Columbia encampment protests.

As mentioned in the quoted FAQ, this heavy repression of the Praricland De-
fendants is being touted by the US government a s fist legal case against “antifa”
Des Revol has been indicted on “corruptly concealing a document or record” for
allegedly moving a box of zines, labeled as "antifa materias” by the government,
from his spouse’s home. He is currendy in federal prison with other defendants as
his case moves forward and willlikely be facing deportation proceedings aferwards'
In addition, a second FBl-ed raid was conducted on the home of two defendants
specifically o seize the printshop printer, the FBI justified this seizure by climing
their home prinishop was used to print and distribute “andfy” and related “subver-
sive” materials. Repression of anarchist publishing is nothing new of course, but this
attack on speech in conjunction with the Oct 7th detainment of a local Filipino
DACA recipient, Yaakub Ira', specifcally for his advocacy of Palestinian liberation
portend concerning headwinds for the curtendly unfolding repressive environment.

Serting aside the annoying and misinformed discourse of antia in US social
media, the significance of this legal mancuver should not be understated. Texas is
Tocated in the most conservative federal court circuit, the Sth Circuit Coure of Ap-
peals, the same courtcireuit responsible for bringing the case that overturned Roe
v Wade to the Supreme Court in addition o an attempt to bring case to fully ban
mifepristone (aka the abortion pill in the US. On bureaucrati level,chis court also
bucks standards of clearing s court dockers; s cases are heard a¢ a much more rapid
pace than other federal courss in the country. Already lawyers have expressed shock
at the speed of the indictments and court hearings with the fest of the als starting
i carly-January according to the DFW Suppore Commitee. To make matters worse,
ocal Fore Worth coures have aleady fel emboldened to reprosceure organized lefist
drag show defenders like Chris “Big Tex” G* aier their frst iled attemprs and the

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neighboring city of Alingion (the real host ity ofthe FIFA World Cup Semifinals and
Dallas Cowboy Stadium) has become one of the firt cities to roll back LGBTQ
ti-discrimination prorections’. While Chicago i facing outright kidnappings from IC
itslgal justificaion, alongside heavier eptession, may well come from this region.

All of this, of course, comes from a broader context, Tesas s famously a bul-
wark for right wing poliics and policy experimentation. In Johnson county alone,
where the noise demo took place, Flock network surveillance cameras were used to
collect evidence and prosecute a woman for allegedly self-administering an abortion
During the initial detention of Prairicland Defendants in Johnson County Jail, 2
fellow inmate (unrelated to this case) was forced to give birch in her cell and on
afterwards was transferred 10 a hospital”. The sheriff of the county has been arrest-
ed, and eleased on bond, on untelated sexual harassment, witness tampering, and
aggravated perjury charges. In good old Texas fashion, a rally was held in the town
in support of the sheriff afer this news broke and a judge allowed him o continue
working as sherifF

“This last anecdore reflcts the socio-political dynamics of the Dallas-Fort Worch
area, and Texas more broadly. Everyone knows about the stercotype of the rambunc-
tious gun-toting and freedom.oving Tesan cowboy, but the imagination of freedom
ived under the dual world-constiutive violences of th slave pl
tation and frontier seuler-colonalism. On a more granular level, social i s heavi
influenced by evangelical churches and their thinly-veied political allegiances. Socal
interaction is determined by whatever church one decides to atiend or not attend.
The counterculture doesnit fare much better, What ofien passes for radical is open
support for the Democratic Party or is social democratic critcs. While not a novel
dynamic, it nevertheless thoroughly limics the political imagination. For example, a
punk benefit show was organized to raise funds for the Pearieland Defendants, but
Growl Records, the venue that intialy booked the show and regularly hosts punk
shows, backed out of hosting the show 3 days before the event was supposed to take
place in the interest of keeping the venue a “safe space” for both sides of the political
spectrum . sae for Trump supporters. In addition, the owner of Growl is allegedly
riends with police offcers who informed him that the show would be surveilled and
armests made for language used for “autempts” at inciting a ior. This cowardice s not
an isolated incident, local cruse bands have asked for noise permits when asked to
perform a squatted venes. Luckily a venue was secured a the last minute, but thisis
emblemaic of the stupidity and political cowardice of ocal punk and punk-adjacent
communities, despite their echnic diversiy, working class compasition, and most
significanty, radical posturing,

“To say the least it’s an uphill batde for the dozens of us that live in the Dal-
as-Fore Worch metroplex and actively seck and work towards the destruction of 2
seuler-slaver conception of freedom that smothers us and is so readily valorized by
people from all walks of life. Despite the grave legal implications from this case,

in Texas was con

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there’s vry lcle local suppore for the defendants, cither due 1o pure ignorance or
from being written off 25 “crazy extremists” or worse. Most “organizing” s relegated
to digital spaces like discord servers or signal group chats due to the low-density sub-
urban development of the entite metroplex resulting in car trips for simple errands
regularly lasting 30+ minutes. Offine projects do exist of course and are important
oases of radical relef, but if we are honest with ourselve, rarely do they become
anyehing bigger than survival groups or glorfied study groups with Aucruating atcen-
with the recent inspirational anti-repres-
ck's artestin Addanta which of course comes
¢ moment and the more robust radical community

sion mobilization surrounding
in the wake of the Stop Cop Ci
which preceded it

There's sparse radical hisory or tradition for us o learn from. Significandy, and
despite existing racial ensions, there was an absence of militant organizing and un-
restin Dallas during the fumous ‘long, hot summer of ‘67" and its afterlife in the
1970s. Rallies and marches, especially from the left, are fairly uncommon and low
in energy. When they do occur, rest assured they will be heavily policed by overzeal-
ous activists or groups like the Brown Berets and other state-communists like PSL
and FRSO's fron geoups. You can read the last owo reportbacks on the haters cafe
noblogs for a more in-depth look into these dynamics"”. To date, if memory serves
conrtly, there have only been two small iots in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by those
ousside prison wall. The frs afier the murder of the 12 year-old Santos Rodriguez in
1973 and the second during the 2020 George Floyd rebellion. The lattr really only
describing some windows of gentrifying business geting smashed and grafftied —
fow bar but better than nothing.

Whether due to Southern manners or genuine fear, open defiance against higher
ups s rarely seen. Ageee with the cop to his face and flip him off when he turns his
truly the Texan spiri is rowdy! Local government collaboration with ICE s the
norm and designations of “sanctuary city” or the like are rightly met with eye rolls
and skepricism. Shame and ostracization are poor deterrents for people, including
children of migrants, o join organizations like ICE and CBE Afier alln the end, we
all have to get our bag and even beter ifics in the service of a couniry that “we” were
nised o be patriotic and grateful for.

Any sustained resistance — maybe more apdy described as avoidance — againse
ICE o the state in general, happens in the mundane. Undocumented communities
already have a wealth of experience in avoiding the state from their homelands and
through previous migration crackdowns. Recently there’s been increased reporting
of ICE actvites in Latino-majoriy areas of Dallas, bue previous activities of so-
calld rapid response groups are stymied by the distance between neighborhoods
and infleibiliy of work life. Instead undocumented familis and friends rely on
each other by noring immigration checkpoints in WhatsApp groups, beginning their
commutes carlir in the morning before the checkpoints are st up, and
registrations renewals or other burcaucratic necessites. Social tes, both g
chosen, are heavily rlied on to bring amenities for those unable to travel outside

bl apremcollecive.com/ 2025/ 12005 s snic s actvis s
10: s noblogsorgpos 2025106120 eportback-out-enemics i yelow!
their home or to raise funds via rafles or parties. OF course we ate not uncritical of
the fraughe dynamics tha this suppore can operate from, nor do we conflate his with
an underlying practice of a latent "brown anarchy” as the direction of these actions
ofien point towards an integration and even pride in the maintenance of broader
capivalist American society, but in light of these practices,the skills and best practices
recommended in pieces like *States of Siege” from 11l Wil seem asinine by those of us
nised and embedded in undocumented communities. Do so-calld revolutionarics
have nothing els to offer us?

We write this report not just to complain about the state of radical politcs in
DFW, but to emphasize the odds we're up against. We are not trying to undermine
the work of DFW Suppore Commitice, and other comrades and groups, but the
community is small here in Texas and lacks connection to broader networks. Haters
Cafe is not blameles in this, we have so far failed to cultivate propulsive capacity to
generalize an understanding of tebellion beyond the spectacular and recuperative (..
marches, acivism, orgs, etc) o a substantive counter-narrative to combat the deep
acceptance and striving of suburban American ideals for most of the population. We
often sce the assumpion that people of color, both immigrant and homegrown, are
resistant 1o the latter values which is not just patronizing, bue quite plinly wrong.
There are various causes for this filure of a counter-nartative on our end from grave
interpersonal falures o the constant demands of daily life, but instead of self-aggran-
dising hopeful naratives that promote faled dead-end strategics, honest accountings
of on the ground situations are what's needed. Dallas is not New York, it is not Se-
aule, it i not Portand, it is not LA, it is not Chicago. Dallas s the ret of America
erystallized in space and ideology and we need your solidarity and support from the
outside to come out on the other side of this wave of repression stronger and more
prepared for the inevitable next waves

Prairieland Defendants Support Primer and FAQ

What isthe Prairicland Case?

“The Praiicland case isa politcal repression case stemming from a protest in solidarity
with ICE Detainees that oceureed on July deh at the Prairieland Detention Center
in Alvarado, Texas, south of Fore Worth. There are currendy 18 defendants facing
life-alering state and federal charges. All but one are stllin custody, being held on
multi-million dollar bails and enduring horrific conditions. The accusations of the
government are absurd, and the police response has been extreme, making it obvious
that this is part of an effore o criminalize dissent along with the other high profile
cases in Spokane, Pordand, and linois. It has repeatedly been used by the Trump.
administeation and is alles as an example of violence by “antifa”

What do we know?
There was a noise demo held at the Praieland Detention Center on July 4th in
solidarity with ICE decainees.
In all, 18 people have been arrested and charged with a variery of crimes. 9 peo-
ple were arested that night, and another was arrested the next day during 2 raid
on a house. The spouse of one defendant was arrested and charged with federa
obstruction of justce with the evidence of a bo of anarchist zines found in his
car. One person the police blieve to have been at the protest was decained afer a
10 day manhune involving the eventual aest of 6 others. One of those arrested
as part of the manhunt was charged with tampering with physical vidence for
removing someone from group chats,
Loved ones have good reasons to believe the sta’s nareative i ludierous based on
their knowledge of the defendants and statements defendants have made since
their arres

s on November 13¢h, ten of the defendants have been combined onto a single
indicument with a total of el charges. Seven others are charges separately on
information

What does she stae allge?

“The state alleges that toward the end of the demonstration an individual ired a
gun a¢ an Alvarado police officer. The officer was allegedly injured in the neck
‘and was released from the hospital within hous.

“The prosecution alleges that this was a coordinated ambush planned by all hose.
in awtendance. The subject of the manhunt and only accused shooter, Benjamin
Song, is claimed to have been hidden by 2 number of individuals.

“The DOJ claims that the defendants are part of a violent ideological movement
they call “anifu” As evidence they cite zines, political thecoric, and many prac-
tices common for acivises such as using Signal, wearing black, and asserting
thei rights when arvested. They also use as evidence the printing press found in
2 defendants garage, which they used to print books for small leftwing presses

Why should this be a concern o all?
“This s 2 propaganda gold mine for the Trump administration. A number of the
defendants ae trans and many have associations with radical lft and anci-fuscist
groups. They are using it as an opporcunity to validate the conspiratorial fanta-
sies of transgender anti-fascist armed tertorist cels invading small towns to kill
cops. This is evidenced by Trumps use of this example a the frs bullet point in
the press release announcing the designation of “antifi” as @ terroris organiza-
tion. (hueps:/fvewwwhitehouse gov/articles/2025/09/president-trumpisnt-back-
ing-down.from.-crushing-radical-lefi-violence/)

“The goal of this case is to criminalize dissent. Regardles of what happened at the
demonstration on July 4th, the scale and nacure of the state’s response was clearly
meant o spread fear and demobilize anci-ICE protest.

The charges, bil, and police action in this case are extraordinary and are occur-
ing at 2 time when allsystems are being overwhelmed, both on the side of the
movement and the stae. If we allow them to pursue this unopposed it wil be
clear thae they can “ood the zone” of repression and casily undermine any legal
vights e seill have

What ane the problems with the state allegaions?
“The core isue with the allegations around July deh i that the state has provided
o evidence that there was coordination to fire at police. Most of the individuals
were actually arrested a few blocks from the alleged incident and the evidence
presented by the federal prosecutors is heavily poliicized and nearly entirely
citcumstantial
There is obvious evidence that those who went to the protest that night planned
o return home. Some left pets o childsen at home with no care plan.
Statements by defendants since the arrest have consistently assrted their in-
nocence. Seer hupsffwwvkeranews org/eriminal-justce/ 2025-09-10/pro-
testor-ambush-womanartested-in-alvarado- ice-faclity-shooting-says-itstart-
ed-peacefully
For more see: hups/fthebarbedwire.com/2025/09/24/new-detail-jul
tackholesfeds-case/, hutps://truthout org/artilesfthese-dallas-resdents-are-on-
the-fronelines-oftrumps-war-againsc-antifal

Other important fcs:
Early on defendants were held in horrible conditions. They were held in isola-
tion, subject t invasive and unncessary surip searches, denied access to lawyers,
and had legal notes confiscated. One defendant was placed in a cell with feces
smeared on the walls and told to clean it herself,

Who is supporting the defendants
‘The DFW Suppore Committce has been formed from family,frends, and loved.
ones of the defendants. I¢s based locally in DEW but has been actively coordi-
nating with people around the counry.
Des has his own support committee who has been working on the parcicularlites
of hissicuation including his immigeation case.

Where can you find more information?
Website: prairiclanddefendants.com
Fundraiser: givesendgo.comsupporedfivprotestors
1G: @dfwsupportcommittee
Daniel “Des” Estrada Sanchez’s Support Committee 1G: @fiee.des.revol