ROOKE: Probably The Most Important Step To Ending Antifa Just Took Place In Texas

Interesting andy ngo, antifa, chaz, chop, domestic terrorism, immigration and customs enforcement ice, portland, riots, seattle, texas admin June 24, 2026 0 Comments

ROOKE: Probably The Most Important Step To Ending Antifa Just Took Place In Texas

Welcome back to Good Life, a newsletter about navigating our modern culture and staying sane in the process. This week, we discuss Texas, terrorism, and the desperate need for justice.

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When the George Floyd riot hysteria swept across the nation, I, like millions of Americans, watched in horror as left-wing activists burned down our cities. I had never seen anything so violent in my life. At the time, my husband’s job had taken our family from Texas to Oklahoma. I was in a strange city with little to no support system and four little girls.

We lived in Tulsa at the time, and while Seattle, Portland, and other cities were under siege, the left capitalized on the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot and began demonstrating outside our home in historic Midtown. While this wasn’t where the original riot took place, we still found ourselves in the middle of it. I remember making sure all the girls were inside with the windows and doors locked. We didn’t show any signs that we were home.

There was looting and vandalism; police had to deploy tear gas to keep the so-called demonstrations from overtaking the city. It was one of those moments where I worried about the future for our girls. And the craziest part is that it was small and docile in comparison to what was happening everywhere else.

The reason I am reliving this moment is that I live back in Texas now, and the violence across our country has continued. Last year, on July 4, a group of 11 Antifa rioters descended on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center. Like in Seattle and Portland, they had a clear plan of action to commit mass destruction and terror.

This case involved a violent nighttime attack on a federal immigration detention facility. The group threw fireworks and explosives at the facility, vandalized vehicles and a guard shack, and the ringleader, Benjamin Hanil Song, opened fire on Alvarado police officers, shooting one of them in the neck. They used the encrypted messaging app Signal to share their plans and reconnaissance. They had 11 firearms, body armor, and first aid kits ready for gunshot wounds. And, of course, they were using black bloc tactics in an attempt to conceal their identities. Prosecutors called them a North Texas Antifa cell.

The Prairieland case in Texas is actually worth celebrating because it’s one of the few times the feds went after an Antifa-linked group with real teeth, leading to the first federal terrorism-related convictions and sentencing of individuals affiliated with Antifa in U.S. history.

For once, the material support law was used, and it worked. But at the same time, it’s nowhere near enough, and that’s the frustrating part.

President Trump designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization back in September 2025. That was supposed to mean something. Americans were supposed to see mass action against the violent extremists terrorizing our country. But months later, Prairieland stands out as almost the only case where they brought terrorist charges and took a group to trial over it.

Think about what the domestic terrorism definition actually says. It covers acts that are dangerous to human life, break criminal laws, and look like they’re meant to intimidate civilians, push the government to change policy through fear, or mess with government functions through destruction or attacks.

The Prairieland case is not the only time Antifa planned an attack meant to intimidate and cause mass destruction. It’s not even the first time that the violent group has acted to shut down federal immigration enforcement.

Andy Ngo’s extensive reporting on how Antifa operates in the U.S. highlights the coordination and violence.

Portland had over 100 straight nights of attacks on the federal courthouse. Fireworks were used as bombs, lasers deployed to blind cops, rocks, bottles and fiery objects thrown on buildings with people inside. Federal officers were injured. It was coordinated and clearly aimed at making the feds pull out or change how they do their job.

What happened in court? A bunch of people got charged with standard crimes. Some cases were dropped, but many were resolved with pleas to misdemeanors. Very few, if any, faced terrorist charges that would go after the people organizing or supplying gear to the violent radicals that kept it going night after night.

Same story in Seattle with CHOP/CHAZ. They literally took over city blocks, creating “autonomous zones.” And while the media called it a love fest, people got shot and killed inside that zone. It was an open attempt to say “government rules don’t apply here.” Again, it was not treated as terrorism-level network activity, despite it being very obviously the case.

Just since Trump has been back in office, we’ve seen attacks and blockades at ICE facilities in places like New York and Minnesota. The pattern keeps repeating because we aren’t doing enough to dismantle the networks.

I’m not saying every protester with a sign should get terrorism charges. But when you have organized, repeated violence with planning, weapons, and clear goals to stop government functions through fear, the federal government has a responsibility to protect its citizens from terror.

The Prairieland case is the first time we are seeing action against this terrorist organization acting on U.S. soil, and we should celebrate the combined 450-year sentences received by the violent rioters involved. But this can’t be a one-and-done situation. Because right now it’s one big example in a sea of cases being treated as no big deal. I’ve gotten a taste of justice, and I want to see all those responsible for terrorizing innocent people brought before me. I want the hive destroyed.

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