Former Marine accused in ICE ambush linked to far-left training group: reports
Nearly a dozen people were arrested following an armed July 4 ambush at a Texas ICE facility, with some suspects tied to a shadowy anti-fascist group and others linked to transgender activists, according to authorities.
Some of those arrested were linked to training sessions Benjamin Song – a former Marine Reservist who was also charged with terrorism in the incident outside the Prairieland Detention Center south of Fort Worth – according to the Washington Post.
Song was arrested several days after the incident, in which several people converged on the facility and vandalized cars in which some defense attorneys told the Post was initially intended as a protest until gunfire erupted.
On July 5, a SWAT team raided a home in the historically-Black “The Bottoms” neighborhood in Dallas, and took at least one person into custody.
A cache of weapons was found in the dwelling, which the Post reported was home to transgender people who were “part of a group of activists united around trans and queer identity issues.” A neighbor offered an incredulous response to the paper when asked about the group moving into the community.
Meanwhile, Song spoke to the paper from jail, where he is being held on charges including attempted murder of federal agents and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, according to the New York Post.
Song also allegedly purchased several of the firearms connected to the ambush, the paper reported.
FEDERAL AUTHORITIES CHARGE PAIR WHO ALLEGEDLY HELPED ICE FACILITY ATTACKER ESCAPE AFTER SHOOTING
Song’s mother, who is reportedly politically conservative, runs a martial arts studio where the 32-year-old would hold training sessions in firearms and other means of combat for young leftists.
He told the Washington Post that he, too, grew up listening to conservative talk radio and joined the military, but became disillusioned with the right after Republicans, including President Donald Trump, spoke ill of China, including its trade imbalance with the U.S.
By the time he began attending college in Austin, he had “sour[ed] on free-market capitalism” and “began communicating with” online leftist activist groups on various encrypted chat applications before eventually moving on to holding the trainings.
Some participants in Song’s trainings were “transgender people, who were eager to learn the hand-to-hand combat and gun-handling skills displayed by right-wing groups during the nationwide unrest in 2020,” the Washington Post reported.
Originally, those in Song’s group were focused on social justice endeavors but recently turned their attention toward ICE’s immigration enforcement operations, according to the reports.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“They were scared. And Ben was offering them a solution for their fear,” a former trainee who left the sessions over safety concerns told the Washington Post.
In a statement after authorities made several arrests, FBI Dallas Field Office Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said the bureau “worked tirelessly to arrest everyone associated with the shooting at the Prairieland Detention Center.”
“We have said it before, the FBI will not tolerate acts of violence toward law enforcement and will thoroughly investigate anyone that commits these types of offenses.”
The FBI previously said it was offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to Song’s arrest and conviction.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
About The Author
