Breaking: Yet another defendant was sentenced Monday on terrorism charges related to an anti-ICE protest last summer in Texas. Like Daniel Sanchez Estrada, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for moving a box of leftist zines, Susan Kent didn’t even attend the protest at Prairieland Detention Center. She’s been sentenced to six years in prison for providing “material support to terrorists.” It’s an absolutely grotesque miscarriage of justice, but this case is not over. There will likely be appeals, and the state of Texas may bring additional charges as well. And The Intercept isn’t done trying to dig up new information, either. We’re tracking down every lead and using open records laws to uncover any new evidence that has not yet come to light. Here’s the problem: Local authorities are throwing up one procedural hurdle after another to avoid handing over the documents that the public should be entitled to see. As a result, we may have to take legal action to force local officials to comply with open records laws. This could be a costly legal fight, and as a nonprofit news outlet, we count on reader support to fund everything we do. If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: The Prairieland case marks the government’s first convictions under President Donald Trump’s executive order designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, and already we’re seeing similar prosecutions in other states. In all, 16 Prairieland defendants have now been sentenced to over 500 years in prison combined — and if the state of Texas brings charges, some could face even more jail time. Our legal team is demanding that local authorities comply with our open records request in a timely fashion — and if these documents contain anything that may cast even a sliver of doubt on the government’s case, then every delay is potentially significant. There’s no bigger reporting priority for The Intercept right now than exposing the Trump administration’s assault on free speech, and as a nonprofit news outlet, we rely on your donations to help power everything we do. However, donations to The Intercept have slowed down at the worst possible time, and we’re counting on your support to help close this urgent fundraising shortfall. Please stand with The Intercept and make a donation today. 
Thank you,
The Intercept team
The Intercept is a recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Intercept’s mailing address is: The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism. |
