1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The Prairieland defendants must be released, and these prosecutions must end. Sentences of 30 to 100 years for people who attended an immigration protest — with the FBI using political zines found in their homes as evidence of terrorism — is a grotesque abuse of prosecutorial power that threatens every American's First Amendment rights. One defendant, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, received 30 years despite not even attending the protest. Another, Benjamin Song, got 100 years. The government's own case rested on political literature, not proof of a coordinated attack. Protesters' attorneys have stated clearly there was no planned ambush — people brought firearms for self-defense and first aid kits as a precaution. That is not terrorism. Meanwhile, the January 6th rioters who actually stormed the Capitol faced a fraction of this punishment. Demand the Justice Department drop remaining charges, support clemency for those already sentenced, and push back on the administration's use of "antifa" as a catch-all terrorism label to criminalize dissent. If reading the wrong pamphlet can land someone in prison for decades, no protest in this country is safe.