New Mexico Civil Guard Suing and Being Sued

Above, New Mexico Civil Guard logo.

It has been a while since I last saw any news about the New Mexico Civil Guard militia group.

Well, it turns out that some members are suing the city of Albuquerque for being arrested and detained by the police at an Old Town protest even though they committed no crime.

And, the Bernalillo County District Attorney is suing the New Mexico Civil Guard.

KRQE reported:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A militia group that showed up to the Juan de Oñate protest in Albuquerque last year with guns in hand is suing the city. They claim they were targeted that night by law enforcement. The New Mexico Civil Guard claims that they didn’t do anything wrong that night and believes the city zeroed in on them anyway.

About eight members of the heavily armed militia, the New Mexico Civil Guard showed up to last summer’s protest of the Juan de Oñate statue near Old Town. Now, several of them are suing the city. According to a federal lawsuit, the guard says city officials targeted them for no reason. They allege that the city was aware the Civil Guard was going to be there that night and positioned officers near the protest waiting until a Civil Guard member “committed a crime and planned to then arrest them.” 

To read more, go here. 

On the District Attorney's lawsuit, KRQE reported:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The lawsuit is moving forward against a local militia group for its role in a violent protest last summer. The Bernalillo County district attorney brought the suit against the New Mexico Civil Guard. Its members showed up armed to a protest against the Juan de Onate statue in Old Town saying they were there to protect the statue from the crowd.

The district attorney’s office calls the Civil Guard a right-wing extremist group and accuses its members of acting as vigilantes. “It’s just not right for any group to think they have the power to take the role of the police, take the role of the militia, or go out and threaten other citizens,” said Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez.

To read more, go here.