The savage sentences mark the first major prison terms in the Trump administration’s campaign to brand left-wing opposition to ICE, fascism and capitalism as terrorism.

The scale of the sentences is extraordinary. Comparable prison terms are typically imposed in cases involving murder, attempted murder of police officers, child sex trafficking or the repeated sexual abuse of children. The 50-year sentence for Ines Soto, a virtual life sentence, is especially appalling. She was not involved in planning the protest, she arrived separately, and left when guards ordered demonstrators to disperse. She had already left the scene before former Marine Benjamin Song allegedly shot and wounded an Alvarado police officer. For this, the government branded her a “terrorist” and secured what amounts to a virtual life sentence.