ICE agents targeted in 2 ambush attacks in recent days

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal law enforcement officers conducting immigration enforcement have been targeted in at least two ambushes in Texas in recent days. 

The Justice Department on Monday named 10 individuals charged with shooting a police officer in the neck and opening fire on other correctional officers outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, on the Fourth of July. The group, donning all black, allegedly first began shooting fireworks at the facility, which is being used by the Department of Homeland Security to hold people related to immigration violations or awaiting deportation.  

The defendants are Cameron Arnold, also known as Autumn Hill; Savannah Batten; Nathan Baumann; Zachary Evetts; Joy Gibson; Bradford Morris, also known as Meagan Morris; Maricela Rueda; Seth Sikes; Elizabeth Soto; and Ines Soto. The complaint charges each of them with three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer and three counts of discharging a firearm during, in relation to and in furtherance of a violent crime. 

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Approximately 10 minutes after convening at the ICE facility, one or two individuals broke off from the main group and began to spray graffiti on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot, authorities said. Photos included in the criminal complaint, filed in the Northern District of Texas, show vehicles tagged with the messages “ICE pig” and “F— you pigs.” Correction officers dialed 911 and an Alvarado police officer responded to the scene. 

Immediately after the officer got out of his vehicle, one defendant positioned in nearby woods allegedly shot the officer in the neck, according to the complaint. Another assailant, wearing a green mask and standing across the street, then allegedly fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility.

“The shooting was captured by both CCTV and the APD officer’s body-worn camera,” the complaint says.

The FBI recovered AR-style rifles from the scene. The group fled from the detention center separately – some on foot, some in vehicles – and were later stopped by other law enforcement officers. The complaint notes that the defendants were “dressed in black, military-style clothing,” some were wearing body armor, some were armed, and some had two-way radios.

Prosecutors said a total of twelve sets of body armor were found during searches of vehicles associated with the defendants, on their persons, and in the area around the Prairieland Detention Center. Law enforcement also found spray paint, magazines containing ammunition and flyers stating, “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR!” and “FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS.” A flag was found that read, “RESIST FASCISM – FIGHT OLIGARCHY.” 

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Gibson had two cell phones inside his backpack inside a “Faraday bag,” which is used to block phone signals and “commonly used by criminal actors to try to prevent law enforcement from tracking their location,” according to prosecutors. 

Two days after the attack, Rueda allegedly called Daniel Rolando Sanchez, who was charged in a separate complaint, expressing concern police would conduct a search warrant on Rueda’s home in Fort Worth. 

“Whatever you need to do, move whatever you need to move at the house,” Rueda said, according to court documents.  

The FBI conducted surveillance on another address in Garland, Texas, believed to be Sanchez’s residence and observed Sanchez carrying multiple packages to his truck. Agents followed Sanchez to an apartment in Denton. He carried a box inside which contained “anti-government propaganda,” including fliers stating “Organising for Attack! Insurrectionary Anarchy,” according to the complaint. 

The complaint was announced the same day that a man in a “utility vest” and armed with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents and a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border, on Monday.

A police officer was injured before authorities say they shot and killed the assailant, identified as 27-year-old Ryan Louis Mosqueda. 

Police say Mosqueda was linked to a Michigan address, but was reported missing from a Weslaco, Texas, address around 4 a.m. Monday. Weslaco is about 20 miles from the Border Patrol facility.

Hours before the attack in McAllen, Mosqueda’s father was stopped by Weslaco police around 2:30 a.m. for a traffic violation, according to police spokesperson Heriberto Caraveo. The father told police that he was looking for his son, who he said had psychological issues and was carrying weapons in his car, Caraveo told The Associated Press.

Police say the white two-door sedan that Mosqueda drove to the facility had letters painted — possibly in Latin — on the driver’s side door.

“What it means, or whether or not it is an underlying reason for him being here, I do not know,” Rodriguez said when asked about the graffiti.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Saturday that the Justice Department was “closely monitoring the attacks on DHS detention facilities in Prairieland, TX, and Portland, OR, and are coordinating with the USAOs and our law enforcement partners.” He said in a post to X, “The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible.” 

An ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, has faced repeated protests and attacks, and nearly two dozen people have been arrested since June.

Another four suspects were arrested for allegedly targeting the facility on the Fourth of July, according to Oregon Live.  Those defendants are Jeremy Andrew Hummel, Andrew Lee Wyatt Marcum, Riley Freeman and Ian Joseph McCarthy. 

Freeman is accused of tossing an incendiary device that exploded near federal officers outside the facility. Marcum is accused of kicking a federal officer who was chasing after Hummel, who was allegedly tagging protective plywood with graffiti.

Prosecutors say McCarthy, meanwhile, used bolt cutters while attempting to damage an electronic card reader near the driveway of the ICE building. He was also spotted allegedly removing fiber optic cables, interrupting the internet service inside the building. McCarthy also allegedly kicked and punched officers while being placed under arrest. 

Freeman, Marcum and McCarthy appeared in federal court on Monday, but all three were released pending future court proceedings, according to KATU. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.