Category: CNN Regional

By Matthew Ablon, CBS Texas Staff

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    ALVARADO, Texas (KTVT) — Eight people who were found guilty of terrorism-related charges earlier this year for a 2025 attack on an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, learned their punishments on Tuesday. One member of the group, identified as the group’s leader, was sentenced to a century in prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas said on Monday that sentencing for the defendants would happen Tuesday morning. The verdicts, handed down in March, came as the defendants stood accused in the July 4, 2025, plot targeting the Prairieland ICE detention center following weeks of testimony from investigators, law enforcement and cooperating witnesses.

Benjamin Song was hit with the longest prison sentence: 100 years behind bars. Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Autumn Hill was sentenced to 50 years, along with Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Meagan Morris, and Elizabeth Soto. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors said that the group launched a premeditated terror attack on the detention facility inspired by antifa ideology, by setting off fireworks, vandalizing property, and shooting at police officers who responded. One officer was struck in the neck with a bullet and survived.

In September 2025, the Trump administration designated antifa as a domestic terror group. However, the designation did not create new criminal charges. Instead, it directed federal agencies to focus more resources on investigating antifa-related activity.

Critics of the move argued that antifa, short for anti-fascist, is an ideology, not an actual group with an organized leadership structure and membership. Subscribing to a specific ideology, they say, is not a crime.

There were nine defendants who went to trial and faced a total of 65 charges that included attempted murder, aiding terrorists, and weapons charges. Those who supported the defendants called the charges outrageous, saying the defendants were there protesting ICE and that the government had gone overboard to send a message.

The nine defendants found guilty at trial included:

Autumn Hill (formerly Cameron Arnold) Zachary Evetts Benjamin Song Savanna Batten Meagan Morris (formerly Bradford Morris) Maricela Rueda Elizabeth Soto Ines Soto Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada

Prosecutors said Morris, Rueda, Song, Arnold, Evetts, Batten, Sanchez-Estrada, and Elizabeth Soto were sentenced on Tuesday. Ines Soto is set to be sentenced on July 1.

Seven additional defendants pleaded guilty to a single count of providing material support to terrorists, and each faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

The trial featured testimony from investigators, law enforcement officers, and several cooperating witnesses.

Prosecutors showed surveillance footage of fireworks along the facility’s tree line and evidence gathered after police arrived, including weapons, tactical gear, and vandalized vehicles.

Witnesses described how protesters set off fireworks, spray-painted cars, and fled when officers responded, while one cooperating witness testified that Benjamin Song later admitted to shooting an officer.

Investigators also traced the defendants’ phone locations and presented seized items from their homes. Testimony also detailed meetings, group chats, and efforts to help Song evade capture after the shooting.

Defense attorneys challenged the credibility of cooperating witnesses, questioned the use of terms like “tactical,” and argued the group had gathered to protest rather than carry out a coordinated attack. None of the defense attorneys chose to present their own cases, feeling that the government did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Alvarado Police Chief Teddy May welcomed the guilty verdicts, noting that Lt. Gross, the officer shot in the neck during the attack, has fully recovered. May said the outcome reflects the consequences of the choices made that night.

“It’s unfortunate for Mr. (Benjamin) Song,” he said. “He made some poor decisions, and it seems like he’s now going to have to be paying his debt to society.”

He also agreed with prosecutors that the defendants could not have reasonably believed they were attending a peaceful protest.

“I don’t believe any reasonable person could believe the suspects didn’t know what they were doing,” May said.

He said the convictions bring closure for the injured officer, his family, and the department. May said officers were doing their jobs when they came under fire and thanked investigators and prosecutors for their work. He said the verdict reinforces their faith in the justice system and that the department remains focused on supporting officers and serving the community.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Nick Lunemann

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — For 11 years, Joe Carr has spent part of his summer behind a lemonade stand outside his family’s home.

What started as a small fundraiser following one of Joe’s surgeries at Gillette Children’s has grown into a community tradition that has raised nearly $100,000 for the hospital.

Joe Carr and his family started the stand in 2015. According to his mother, Kristi Carr, the fundraiser brought in just a few hundred dollars during its first year. Last year alone, the stand raised more than $17,000, bringing the overall total to more than $88,000 before this year’s event.

All donations support Gillette Children’s Adaptive Bike Fund, which helps provide adaptive bicycles for children and adults with disabilities.

Kristi Carr credits the fundraiser’s success to Joe’s outgoing personality and the connections he has built over the years.

“Anybody meets him as a friend after a couple of minutes,” she said.

The annual event attracts a mix of neighbors, returning supporters and first-time visitors. Some travel from other parts of Minnesota after hearing about the fundraiser through friends or social media.

This year’s lemonade stand included a special surprise.

Representatives from Blaze Credit Union, a longtime supporter of the fundraiser, brought country music artist Haley James to the event. James performed her song “Lemonade,” which was inspired by Joe Carr and his annual fundraiser.

The performance served as a tribute to a young man whose lemonade stand has become much more than a summer tradition.

As the donations continue to grow, Joe Carr and his family hope this year’s event will push the fundraiser past the $100,000 mark.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jacob Murphy

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    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — Throughout the day on Tuesday, June 23, Milwaukee Bucks fans stopped by the Giannis Antetokounmpo mural downtown on Wisconsin Ave.

Fans took pictures, dropped items off, and said goodbye to the superstar after waking up to the trade that sent their superstar to the Miami Heat.

I couldn’t sleep, it’s never gonna be the same, Bucks basketball won’t be the same,” Bucks fan Jacob Koller said.

Giannis spent 13 seasons in Milwaukee and won a championship in 2021.

“I think he’s the greatest Buck of all time, I know people compare him to Kareem Abdul on the impact, but he brought relevancy back to Milwaukee and basketball,” Koller said.

The departure comes after months of rumors spreading about the future of Giannis and the Bucks.

“I’ve seen a couple people on twitter describe it as ripping the band aid off, that’s kind of what it feels like,” Bucks fan Colin Hoch said.

For Giannis and the fans CBS 58 spoke with on Tuesday, it was more than just the name and number on the back of a jersey.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Matthew Ablon, CBS Texas Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    Texas (KTVT) — Eight people who were found guilty of terrorism-related charges earlier this year for a 2025 attack on an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, learned their punishments on Tuesday. One member of the group, identified as the group’s leader, was sentenced to a century in prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas said on Monday that sentencing for the defendants would happen Tuesday morning. The verdicts, handed down in March, came as the defendants stood accused in the July 4, 2025, plot targeting the Prairieland ICE detention center following weeks of testimony from investigators, law enforcement and cooperating witnesses.

Benjamin Song was hit with the longest prison sentence: 100 years behind bars. Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Autumn Hill was sentenced to 50 years, along with Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten, Meagan Morris, and Elizabeth Soto. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors said that the group launched a premeditated terror attack on the detention facility inspired by antifa ideology, by setting off fireworks, vandalizing property, and shooting at police officers who responded. One officer was struck in the neck with a bullet and survived.

In September 2025, the Trump administration designated antifa as a domestic terror group. However, the designation did not create new criminal charges. Instead, it directed federal agencies to focus more resources on investigating antifa-related activity.

Critics of the move argued that antifa, short for anti-fascist, is an ideology, not an actual group with an organized leadership structure and membership. Subscribing to a specific ideology, they say, is not a crime.

There were nine defendants who went to trial and faced a total of 65 charges that included attempted murder, aiding terrorists, and weapons charges. Those who supported the defendants called the charges outrageous, saying the defendants were there protesting ICE and that the government had gone overboard to send a message.

The nine defendants found guilty at trial included:

Autumn Hill (formerly Cameron Arnold) Zachary Evetts Benjamin Song Savanna Batten Meagan Morris (formerly Bradford Morris) Maricela Rueda Elizabeth Soto Ines Soto Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada

Prosecutors said Morris, Rueda, Song, Arnold, Evetts, Batten, Sanchez-Estrada, and Elizabeth Soto were sentenced on Tuesday. Ines Soto is set to be sentenced on July 1.

Seven additional defendants pleaded guilty to a single count of providing material support to terrorists, and each faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

What happened at the trial The trial featured testimony from investigators, law enforcement officers, and several cooperating witnesses.

Prosecutors showed surveillance footage of fireworks along the facility’s tree line and evidence gathered after police arrived, including weapons, tactical gear, and vandalized vehicles.

Witnesses described how protesters set off fireworks, spray-painted cars, and fled when officers responded, while one cooperating witness testified that Benjamin Song later admitted to shooting an officer.

Investigators also traced the defendants’ phone locations and presented seized items from their homes. Testimony also detailed meetings, group chats, and efforts to help Song evade capture after the shooting.

Defense attorneys challenged the credibility of cooperating witnesses, questioned the use of terms like “tactical,” and argued the group had gathered to protest rather than carry out a coordinated attack. None of the defense attorneys chose to present their own cases, feeling that the government did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Reaction after the verdicts Alvarado Police Chief Teddy May welcomed the guilty verdicts, noting that Lt. Gross, the officer shot in the neck during the attack, has fully recovered. May said the outcome reflects the consequences of the choices made that night.

“It’s unfortunate for Mr. (Benjamin) Song,” he said. “He made some poor decisions, and it seems like he’s now going to have to be paying his debt to society.”

He also agreed with prosecutors that the defendants could not have reasonably believed they were attending a peaceful protest.

“I don’t believe any reasonable person could believe the suspects didn’t know what they were doing,” May said.

He said the convictions bring closure for the injured officer, his family, and the department. May said officers were doing their jobs when they came under fire and thanked investigators and prosecutors for their work. He said the verdict reinforces their faith in the justice system and that the department remains focused on supporting officers and serving the community.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Paula Wethington

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    Michigan (WWJ) — An internal affairs division from the Michigan Department of Corrections is looking into the circumstances of three women who died this spring at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility.

MDOC director Heidi Washington provided that information in a three-page letter dated June 18, intended as a response to a letter Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-District 6, sent to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The correspondence is among discussions that have become public about conditions at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti. Huron Valley is the only state prison in Michigan for female inmates. Those statements included a letter signed in May by over three dozen current and former lawmakers, demanding the immediate resignation of Washington as the department’s director.

While Dingell was not part of that joint letter, she did send her own correspondence on June 8 to the governor, asking several specific questions and saying, “Concerns have been raised repeatedly by women in custody, their families, advocates, attorneys, medical professionals, and the public. Too many continue to report that the underlying problems remain unsolved. It is essential that you give this issue your immediate attention and take urgent action to address the serious issues threatening the safety of these women under MDOC supervision.”

Washington has been in her current role since 2015 and has worked for the agency since 1998.

In her response to the Dingell query, Washington detailed the number of prisoner grievances filed in recent years, outlined the cleaning and sanitation schedules, and explained the procedures for inmates to access medical care for a known health condition or during an emergency.

Washington also said investigations are active into the deaths of Rebecca Fackler, Khiara Howard and Ashley Hoath.

“As all incarcerated individuals have access to healthcare services at the facility, an element of the investigations is reviewing interactions in the period prior to the deaths to ensure that all policies were properly followed, including by healthcare staff. We ask that the public wait for the investigation results to be released, as there appear to be various and at times conflicting public narratives about these cases that may not be supported by the actual evidence,” the director said.

“The Michigan MDOC, its employees, and partners, understand the significant responsibility placed upon us to operate safe, humane, and effective correctional facilities that are focused on the long-term positive outcomes of those placed under the Department’s jurisdiction,” Washington wrote.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.