The federal trial of nine Prairieland defendants began with jury selection in Fort Worth before U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee, after an initial mistrial six days earlier. On February 17, Judge Pittman had declared a mistrial on the first day of jury selection after defense attorney MarQuetta Clayton (representing Maricela Rueda) wore a T-shirt bearing images of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Shirley Chisholm, and other civil rights figures -- apparently honoring Jesse Jackson, who had died that morning. Pittman called the shirt "politically charged," saying "I don't know why in the world you would think that's appropriate," and declared a mistrial over the objection of all defense attorneys. He threatened Clayton with sanctions.
The trial that began on February 23 would last 12 days, with jurors hearing testimony from more than 45 witnesses and considering over 210 exhibits. The nine defendants were Cameron Arnold (Autumn Hill), Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris (Meagan Morris), Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. No defense witnesses were called; the defense rested without presenting its case.
The prosecution's expert witness was Kyle Shideler of the Center for Security Policy, a think tank founded by Frank Gaffney -- a former Reagan Defense Department official described by the SPLC as an Islamophobic conspiracy theorist. Shideler testified over defense objections that "black bloc" clothing and use of the Signal messaging app were "typical of antifa" tactics. He had authored a September 2025 article titled "How to Dismantle Far-Left Extremist Networks: A Roadmap for the Trump Administration" and conferred with prosecutors in October 2025, a month before the original indictment. The Intercept reported that Shideler's think tank effectively helped shape the indictment itself.
Cooperating witnesses -- including Seth Sikes, who had pleaded guilty -- testified that they expected only a "noise demonstration" with fireworks to show solidarity with ICE detainees, and that the shooting was a shock. Sikes testified the goal was to let detainees inside Prairieland "know they weren't forgotten." Nathan Baumann, who traveled alone from College Station, was described in court as a "government-sponsored liar" by a defense attorney for cooperating with prosecutors.
During jury charge discussions, Judge Pittman himself questioned the relevance of the antifa framing, asking a prosecutor: "Whether it's antifa or the Methodist Women's Auxiliary of Weatherford, why does it matter?" -- acknowledging that the antifa label served no legal purpose under the material support statute, which requires only proof that defendants provided assistance to someone who committed a qualifying offense.