Some of the alleged anti-ICE attackers in Texas had a background of protest arrests, including during the Occupy Wall Street movement and at Texas A&M University. Ines Soto, part of the group of ten charged with attempted murder of federal officers and firearm offenses, was arrested in 2016 for resisting arrest during a protest against Richard Spencer’s speech at Texas A&M. Soto, who is now 40, was released on a $10,000 bond after her 2016 arrest. Meanwhile, Savanna Batten was involved in the Occupy Dallas protests in 2011 and was arrested for allegedly preventing people from entering and exiting a Chase Bank. Her case was dismissed in exchange for 24 community service hours. Batten was also charged in 2018 for blocking a highway near a Dallas ICE facility, and the charge was dismissed in 2019 as part of a program.
Benjamin Song, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist captured by the FBI, had a documented history of anti-government activism. He was named in a 2023 lawsuit related to a counter-protest at a drag brunch in Fort Worth, Texas, and was associated with the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, a pro-arms leftist group. Song was also arrested in 2020 for assaulting a public servant during a protest in Austin. His social media posts, including a June 2022 statement on X, indicated his extreme views, such as calling for the abolition of the police. The FBI’s capture of Song highlights the ongoing threat of anti-government individuals who may pose a risk to public safety and law enforcement. The attack on ICE officers at the Prairieland Detention Center is being treated as a serious crime, with authorities emphasizing the need for strict prosecution to deter such acts of violence.