FBI Director Kash Patel Announces Terrorism Charges in Texas Shooting ICE | News about Donald Trump

The charges follow a September executive order by President Donald Trump designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization.”

Federal prosecutors in Texas filed terrorism charges for the first time aimed at antifaaccording to Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The charges announced Thursday cite United States President Donald Trump's recent designation of the far-left movement as a terrorist organization.

Cameron Arnold of Dallas and Zachary Evetts of Waxahachie, Texas, were charged Wednesday with supporting terrorists for their alleged roles in the nonfatal shooting of a police officer at an immigration detention center. Both were arrested in July with eight others and charged with attempted murder and weapons offences.

None of the defendants have entered pleas in the case, court records show, but Arnold and Yvets are scheduled to do so at an Oct. 22 court hearing.

Arnold's attorney, Cody Coffer, said in an email that he looks forward to defending his client at trial.

Evetts' attorney, Patrick McClain, said his client is innocent and accused prosecutors of adding the terrorism charges for political reasons.

“I have not seen any evidence from the prosecutors to support any of the charges,” McLain told Reuters news agency.

In a social media post, Patel wrote: “First time: FBI arrests violent extremists linked to Antifa, anarchists and terrorism charges filed for July 4 Prairieland ICE attack in Texas,” Patel said on social media.

Arnold and Yvets were charged with supporting terrorists in general, not the legally separate charge of supporting a terrorist organization.

Trump and his Republican allies are accused antifa followers to incite political violence after the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and amid protests against federal immigration authorities in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.

Trump signed executive order in September calling antifa “terrorist” organization, although some experts in national security law have said the designation is legally dubious because antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” has no formal leadership or organizational structure.

In an indictment filed in Texas federal court on Wednesday, prosecutors allege that Arnold and Yvets were part of an antifa “cell” that carried out a July 4 attack on a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Alvarado, Texas.

Antifa was not mentioned in the original charging documents or the accompanying release from prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the alleged attackers at the Prairieland prison set off fireworks and vandalized cars before an unnamed co-conspirator opened fire on officers securing the facility, hitting a local police officer in the neck.