What the Prairieland Prosecutions Reveal About Trump’s America

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.Last July, a group of activists staged what they called a “noise demonstration” at ICE’s Prairieland Detention Facility, near Dallas. They shot off fireworks, damaged a surveillance camera, and vandalized government vehicles. When police responded to the disturbance, a demonstrator fired several shots, hitting one officer in the neck; he survived.The activists could reasonably be described as “antifa.” According to The Washington Post, alleged ringleader Benjamin Song “trained students for close quarters combat and large-scale gunfights,” and people involved wore the “black bloc” clothing that self-described antifa activists often pick in order to keep a low profile. But the name is contentious: President Trump has labeled antifa a “domestic terrorism group” even though no such legal designation exists. Treating antifa as a “group” that can be labeled doesn’t make a lot of sense either, because antifa is not a single centralized organization or even a clear ideology, but rather a style or affect adopted by various people with a range of political affiliations and views. Indeed, Song denied being a member of antifa, saying that it was not a real group, but he described himself as holding anti-fascist views.Nine people were tried in connection with the incident, and prosecutors leaned into the antifa framing during the trial. All nine activists were convicted: Song of attempted murder for the shooting of the officer, and the others for charges including rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and conspiracy to corruptly conceal a document or record. On Tuesday, eight were sentenced and received extremely harsh sentences: 100 years in prison for Song, and 30 to 70 years for the others. (Attorneys for the defendants have sai