Reproduced below is a Slingshot Collective article authored by DFW Support Committee, published online on October 25, 2025. There is also a print version in the Slingshot Collective publication! Slingshot describes itself as a nonprofit news organization dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social justice issues.
After a July 4 noise demonstration at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, TX, to show solidarity with ICE detainees and protest ongoing deportations, there was an officer-involved shooting. Trump’s Department of Justice skewed the shooting as a terrorist ambush and 17 people were arrested on ruinous charges. Eleven face aggravated assault, attempted murder, and terrorism charges. Six others face accusations including evidence tampering, smuggling of persons, and hindering prosecution of terrorism. Almost all are charged with organized criminal activity, and the state set their bonds as high as $15 million.
Common practices in activist scenes have been cast as evidence of violent conspiracy. The FBI alleges that use of encrypted messaging app Signal, wearing black clothing, zine distribution, and speech critical of the government are all proof of a conspiracy to ambush police. Even two defendants’ commercial printer has become evidence of criminality.
But the state lies. We know our loved ones. They devote their free time to caring for people neglected by the state, such as those experiencing homelessness and the queer community of Dallas-Fort Worth. They have families, pets, and lives they intended to return to on July 5. The state is using the people we love to demonize leftists, anarchists, and anyone it deems “Antifa” and to justify its repression of broader left movements. In spite of this, we are only emboldened.
“No one should take you out of your home at gunpoint and bring you to a county you’ve never been to, just for removing someone from a group chat,” said defendant Dario Sanchez, the sole defendant released on bond. “I’ve been arrested and released three times, each one more ridiculous than the last. At times I’ve felt numb or distraught, but more than anything, I’m angry at how my life has been stolen from me. I’m not about to let anyone make me shy away from who I am or what I believe in.”
“With these scare tactics, the government tries to constrain what we imagine is politically possible,” said Lydia Koza, wife of defendant Autumn Hill. “They put my wife in a cage because she objected to putting people in cages. When the FBI raided our house and took her away, I thought they would kill me. Threatening to take everything away from me has only given me more purpose than ever – to fight for justice, for her and everyone.”
Across the world, from Seoul, South Korea, to Athens, Greece, we’ve seen international support. People have hosted banner drops, letter writing campaigns, and solidarity events with the defendants. While on the legal front, the state and federal governments have purposely held defendants in limbo—waiting to indict them, subjecting them to a multitude of abuses in jail—organizing as a collective has helped us feel less alone. Seeing our family, our friends, and our comrades be subject to arbitrary punishment, forced labor, strip searches, bio-hazardous conditions, and denial of medical care while incarcerated only strengthens our belief in dismantling the carceral system and creating a world without police.
A public fundraiser has been organized by the DFW Support Committee at givesendgo.com/SupportDFWprotestors. We ask that you give if you can, but please write letters to the defendants and spread the word of this case: DFWdefendants.wordpress.com. Show the state that repression only breeds resistance.