Daniel Sanchez-Estrada didn't attend the Fourth of July protest at the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. His wife called him from a prison phone afterward and asked him to move some boxes. The boxes contained leftwing zines. A federal judge sentenced him to 30 years, and federal prosecutor Frank Gatto explained why: "People with that kind of extremist beliefs need extra time in prison. They believe violence is justified."
Eight other defendants who did attend the protest received 50 to 100 years each — including two people who left when guards asked them to. Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation said the zines Sanchez-Estrada moved are "no different from the pro-Revolution pamphlets this country's founders had in mind when they drafted the first amendment's press clause."
His warning: "Americans should not make the mistake of believing Sanchez's sentence only threatens immigrants, leftists or so-called antifa members — they're just the low-hanging fruit, not the endgame."
Previously:
