As I mentioned before, a group of vigilantes were capturing migrants crossing the border through New Mexico. These vigilantes kept the migrants submitted until the border patrol agents arrived and arrested them.
Attorney General Hector Balderas confirmed that Hopkins was one of the members of the United Constitutional Patriots. He was sent to Dona Ana County detention center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It wasn’t known immediately if Hopkins had an attorney that could defend the accusations against him.
The FBI statement didn’t provide much information about Hopkins background. Also, an FBI spokesman, named Frank Fisher, to The Associated Press that no additional information was going to be released until after his first appearance in a federal court the following Monday.
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In my opinion, I think authorities did right in arresting. As I mentioned in my previous blog, Hopkins was taking authorities that don’t correspond to him. He should face the consequences and in my opinion, every member of the United Constitutional Patriots should face the same consequences too.
Hector Balderas said in a statement that Hopkins “is a dangerous felon who should not have weapons around children and families. Today’s arrest by the FBI indicates clearly that the rule of law should be in the hands of trained law enforcement officials, not armed vigilantes.”
Private groups are already warned by federal authorities to avoid policing the border and leave the work for law enforcement. This, after watching various videos of these groups detaining Mexican and Central American migrants crossing the New Mexico border.
The Customs and Border Protection posted on its Twitter account that they “do not endorse or condone private groups or organizations to take enforcement matters into their own hands. Interference by civilians in law enforcement matters could have public safety and legal consequences for all parties involved”.
Unfortunately, they have just been able to captured one of this group of patriotic citizens. Hopefully they capture and imprison each and every member of these groups.
Remember Jim Benvie? The spokesman from the United Constitutional Patriots immediately made a comment in a video via Facebook. Again, he was in favor of the actions done by these vigilantes.
Benvie said in the video that the vigilantes were “assisting a stressed and overstrained Border Patrol” and again repeated that they were trained to use guns and didn’t point the guns to the migrants.
This is the stupidest excused I’ve ever heard in my life. How can you excuse these illegal actions just by saying that the border patrol agents are tired and they need help. Even the CBP are saying to stop doing this, that they don’t need help. This is totally not an excuse and Benvie made himself look like someone with very little criterion.
As mentioned in the article, this cannot be happening. Especially when children are present. Border Patrol, El Paso sector, 86% of this past March arrests were families or children who were unaccompanied. This vigilantes have to stop immediately their actions and hopefully with the arrest of Hopkins, they think about it twice on doing what they do.
References: Associated Press. “New Mexico Man Belonging to Armed Civilian Group near U.S.-Mexico Border Is Arrested.” Chicagotribune.com, 21 Apr. 2019, www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-armed-civilian-border-group-member-arrested-20190420-story.html.