The Green Party of Utah (GPUT) has signed on to the “Free Des” Letter, calling for his release from prison. Since July 6, 2025, Daniel “Des” Sanchez Estrada has been held in federal prison for distributing materials that opposed the Trump administration’s policies. 

According to the statement, Des was arrested two days after a demonstration at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Texas, after being followed by FBI agents to the facility where his wife, a Prairieland defendant arrested with others at the event, was incarcerated. Des was pulled over for a minor traffic offense and subsequently arrested, after which he was charged with distributing the materials at issue. Those materials have been noted to be widely available zines. Des was later charged with being part of a (fictitious) Antifa group and conspiring to conceal documents that could be used in his criminal case. The prosecution of Des is known to be tied to and threatening his immigration status, setting a dangerous precedent for the criminalization of dissent against the Trump administration and paves the way for broader attacks on immigrant, migrant, and refugee friends and families.

The GPUT joins dozens of other organizations in the demand for the immediate release of Des and to cease the suppression of free speech and the targeting of immigrants.

“The Trump administration is setting a dangerous precedent, admitting to the world they do not need to follow the law, whether it be local law or international law,” states Russell Wagstaff, GPUT Co-Chair.  “We must be prepared to challenge all authoritarian overreach, and not allow a small minority to dictate what is considered free speech.  This attack on immigrants will not stop with immigrants, soon, this and future administrations will turn their eyes toward all dissident citizens.”

“Authoritarian regimes rise when the people don’t hold them accountable for their overreach, and there are few clearer signs of burgeoning fascism than the outright targeting of people based on ideology,” adds GPUT Secretary Matt Styles. “We cannot allow this attack on democracy to go unchecked. We cannot let Des become a victim of the Trump administration’s suppression of political opposition.”

The GPUT also urges all organizations and groups wanting to defend a free society to join the call by signing the solidarity statement.

“A threat to Des is a threat to us all.”