ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A judge has granted the District Attorney’s motion in the aftermath of the tearing down of the Juan De Onate statue in Albuquerque in 2020. District Attorney Raul Torrez says with this motion being granted, the ‘New Mexico Civil Guard’ militia group cannot act as a form of military in the public again.
In June of 2020 protestors tried to tear down the statue of Spanish conquistador Juan De Onate on the corner of Mountain and 19th St. At that protest, tensions heightened between the protestors and an armed militia called ‘New Mexico Civil Guard.’ One man was arrested for shooting a protestor who hit him with a skateboard, though the New Mexico Civil guard says the shooter acted alone.
Now, a district judge granted Torrez’s motion against the group; ruling that the New Mexico Civil Guard and its members are not allowed to organize and operate in public as part of a military unit without being lawfully activated by the governor.
