Leftist Lawyer Causes Day One Mistrial at the First Federal Antifa Terrorism Trial
One of the woke attorneys for an Antifa terror defendant wore clothing with politically-charged messaging to jury selection
Editor’s note: This report has been updated with more information.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A mistrial has been declared on the first day of the historic first federal Antifa terrorism trial after a woke lawyer for one of the defendants engaged in misconduct.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman halted the jury selection process after noticing that MarQuetta Clayton, a BLM-activist attorney for one of the defendants, was wearing a politically-charged t-shirt with images of Martin Luther King, Jr. and messaging about civil rights.
Judge Pittman found her clothing could prejudice jurors. His ruling came on the first day of jury selection in Fort Worth, weeks after nine federal defendants were indicted on charges stemming from a July 4, 2025 shooting ambush on the Prairieland ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas. A local police officer responding to the riot was shot in the neck. One of the defendants escaped from the scene, leading to a Texas-most-wanted manhunt for almost two weeks.
“I don’t know why in the world you would think that’s appropriate,” Pittman told Clayton. During her politically-charged questioning of jurors, she mentioned Jesse Jackson’s death, framing her side as being the side of civil rights and justice.
The judge told her that wearing that shirt would be akin to the prosecution wearing a shirt with “Donald Trump riding an eagle with an ICE flag.” It could bias or intimidate the jurors toward a particular view. He said he had never declared a mistrial before today.
Clayton is running to be a criminal court judge in Tarrant County, Texas.
Clayton is representing defendant Maricela Rueda. Rueda’s co-defendants include several Trantifa activists. Seven other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and admitted on record that they were organizing under an Antifa ideology. Some of those defendants are expected to be witnesses for the prosecution.
Those facing trial are facing charges of providing material support to terrorism, attempted murder, conspiracy and firearm offenses.
The nine defendants are:
Cameron Arnold, a.k.a. “Autumn Hill” (trans)
Maricela Rueda
Bradford “Meagan Elizabeth” Morris (trans)
Ines Soto
Elizabeth Soto
Savanna Batten
Daniel Sanchez Estrada
Zachary Evetts
A new trial date starting over the jury selection process was set for next Monday.
Outside the federal courthouse, a group of far-left Antifa supporters gathered with signage in support of the suspects. Antifa have urged their supporters and members to pack the courthouse during the trial.
The spectator gallery was in an overflow room that displayed a video feed of the jury selection process. The federal court rules do not allow spectators to cover their faces, which has upset some of the leftist attendees.
Clayton was seen leaving the courthouse with her shirt turned inside out. A later hearing will determine whether her conduct merits sanction.
Antifa accounts advocating on behalf of the terror suspects have responded online to the mistrial by targeting Judge Pittman with unfounded conspiracies that he did it because he didn’t like the jury pool. They’re trying to solicit gossip and rumors about him to damage his reputation.
This is not the first time that an attorney for the defense has been sanctioned. Last month, three attorneys for co-defendant Zachary Evetts were fined $500 each for filing frivolous motions and omitting communications they were ethically obligated to include in a filing.
If you want to attend the trial starting on Feb. 23, and I strongly encourage you to, it’s being held at 501 W 10th Street, Fort Worth, Texas, 76102. This case about Antifa terrorism will not get national media attention.
If she’d ever been in the courtroom before as a defendant’s lawyer, she knows the rules. This was a deliberate tactic to slow or impede the process. She needs to be fined, or held in contempt.
I wonder why no one pointed this out to the judge before the jurors were brought into the courtroom.