A former United States Marine reservist and seven others have been sentenced to decades in prison for a shooting that injured a police officer during a demonstration last year outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas, Texas.

On Tuesday, Benjamin Song, the Marine reservist, received the maximum sentence of 100 years. The incident occurred during a July 4 demonstration. Seven other defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.

Prosecutors characterized the event as an act of "terrorism" and asserted that the eight individuals were connected to the leftist activist group antifa. The defense, however, denied any affiliation with the group. Family members expressed shock and anger, with one stating that the government was "taking her entire life away because she attended a protest. Nobody died."

US District Judge Reed O’Connor, presiding over the case, described the incident not as a protest but as "an assault on democracy." He emphasized the need to deter similar conduct, noting that all but one of the defendants were convicted on terrorism charges.

The case has drawn national attention, with civil liberties advocates raising concerns about its potential impact on protest rights and free speech under the First Amendment. The Justice Department highlighted this as the first sentencing of individuals "affiliated with" antifa following President Donald Trump's executive order designating the group as a "terrorist" organization.

Trump's executive order was issued despite the absence of a domestic equivalent to the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations. Antifa is broadly understood as a decentralized movement opposing neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the sentences demonstrate "swift and uncompromising justice" for those who "attack law enforcement and federal facilities." Prosecutors presented evidence during the trial suggesting the group's actions, including the presence of firearms, body armor, and first aid kits, were pre-planned.

The Prairieland Detention Center is operated by the private prison company GEO Group.