Last July, anti-ICE activists joined a protest outside a detention center in Prairieland, Texas, dressed in all black.

Now, seven of these protesters are facing up to 60 years in prison after being convicted of charges including providing “material support for terrorism.”

The Prairieland trial marks the very first convictions under Donald Trump’s executive order designating “antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization.” Civil liberties experts warn that the case sets a dangerous precedent for the administration's ongoing efforts to suppress left-wing speech.

The Intercept has already exposed major holes in the prosecution’s case; meanwhile, local authorities are refusing to hand over the public records we’ve requested to find out what exactly happened at the protest that led to these activists being convicted.

Now we’re now gearing up for what could be a costly legal battle to compel local officials to comply with state open records laws, and we’re counting on your help to get to the truth.

Will you donate $5 to help The Intercept expose the truth about the Prairieland “antifa terrorism” convictions and the Trump administration’s unconstitutional crusade to crush left-wing activists and organizations?

The Prairieland case centered on a nighttime July 4, 2025, protest outside an ICE detention facility that started with demonstrators shooting fireworks and spray-painting cars in the parking lot.

Some of the protesters brought guns, which is legal in Texas, and one police officer sustained a minor injury that defense attorneys say resulted from a warning shot that ricocheted off the pavement.

However, prosecutors made no claim that the protesters hit with material support for terrorism charges were involved in the shooting. Instead, the evidence presented against them included anti-government internet memes, drawings, content from radical zines, the use of the encrypted messaging app Signal, and their “black bloc” clothing.

Now Trump is asking Congress for a major increase in domestic counterterrorism funding that will turbocharge the administration’s crackdown on political dissent under NSPM-7, his directive ordering federal law enforcement agencies to target Americans who hold a wide range of vaguely defined left-of-center political views as domestic terrorists.

There’s no bigger reporting priority for The Intercept right now than exposing the Trump administration’s assault on free speech, and as a nonprofit news outlet, we count on your donations to help power everything we do.

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