Mistrial declared in Texas ICE detention center ambush trial over defense lawyer's T-shirt
A federal judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in the case of nine alleged Antifia members charged in connection with the ambush shooting of a police officer at a Texas U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center over a T-shirt worn by one of the defense attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman cited the shirt worn by attorney MarQuetta Clayton under a blazer, which depicted civil rights icons. Clayton, who is defending Maricela Rueda, apparently wore the shirt during jury selection.
"I don’t know why in the world you would think that’s appropriate," Pittman told Clayton, the Texas Standard reported.
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Pittman learned of the shirt, which featured images of Shirley Chisholm and Martin Luther King Jr., after Clayton had asked questions of the panel for 22 minutes, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
"This has to be a first in the history of American jurisprudence, I would think," Pittman said. "I’m left with no other choice."
The other defense attorneys opposed a mistrial. The judge said he would schedule a show-cause hearing in which Clayton will have to explain why she should not be sanctioned, according to the newspaper.
Jury selection began Tuesday with 75 potential jurors. A pool of 130 jurors will be brought in next Tuesday to start the process again, Pittman said.
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Around 20 potential jurors said they opposed ICE efforts to combat illegal immigration.
"We’re a family of immigrants," one potential juror reportedly said.
The nine defendants are accused of participating in an alleged ambush at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center on July 4, 2025.
The defendants ignited fireworks and damaged buildings and vehicles before firing on federal officers, federal prosecutors said. An Alvarado police officer responding to a 911 call was shot in the neck and survived.
Prosecutors said the attack was orchestrated by members of what they describe as a North Texas Antifa cell. The defendants have denied wrongdoing.