SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (Reuters) – The leader of an armed militia that spent two months rounding up migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border before he was arrested on federal weapons charges was hospitalized after a jailhouse attack, his lawyer and authorities said on Wednesday.
Larry Hopkins, 69, whose group of self-styled citizen border cops drew condemnation from civil liberties advocates, suffered broken ribs in the beating by fellow inmates on Tuesday at the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, according to his attorney, Kelly O’Connell.
Hopkins was arrested on Saturday by the FBI on an outstanding warrant accusing him of being a felon in illegal possession of firearms, a charge dating back to a 2017 search of his home.
The detention facility, about 200 miles south of Albuquerque, confirmed that Hopkins was “the alleged victim” of a Tuesday night attack and said the incident was under investigation.
“Hopkins was given medical attention for non life-threatening injuries,” county spokeswoman Kelly Jameson said in an email. She later told Reuters that Hopkins had been transferred from the jail on Wednesday and turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service.
She said Hopkins was beaten by three other inmates in the jail’s television viewing room, and no weapons were found. Jameson said she had no information on what precipitated the violence.
The attack occurred the same day that Hopkins’ United Constitutional Patriots group abandoned its encampment in Sunland Park, New Mexico, where they had spent two months patrolling a 5-mile stretch of the border and said they detained thousands of migrants they caught trying to cross into the United States.
The American Civil Liberties Union last week denounced the UCP as group of “fascist” vigilantes impersonating law enforcement to essentially kidnap Central American families seeking asylum.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, ordered an investigation of the group. UCP members insisted they were acting at the behest of U.S. Border Patrol agents.
O’Connell, who said on Wednesday he had spoken with Hopkins by phone, questioned the jail’s ability to protect a “very high-profile” inmate, but said he did not know why Hopkins was targeted. A UCP spokesman, Jim Benvie, said he believed it was because of Hopkins’ activity at the border.
“They put him in a pod cell with a group of people, and they had just got done watching the article about the ACLU writing about him being racist, and as a result of that he was attacked,” Benvie said in a video posted online.
Hopkins was being held without bail pending a detention hearing set for Monday in Albuquerque.
Benvie said the UCP was moving to another campsite in a couple of days and would continue to support the U.S. Border Patrol, which has said it does not support private citizens acting as law enforcement.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/leader-self-styled-u-citizen-border-patrol-attacked-014009793.html
suffered broken ribs in the beating by fellow inmates on Tuesday at the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, OBVIOUSLY A BEANER ATTACK.
90%+ of the inmate pop. there, most likely.
Who else but?
Or maybe a psych op to draw out militia
Sounds like the prison would be liable for his protection now that he doesn’t have that ability anymore by their acts
Law suit for allowing him to get thrashed?
This just proved the point about the need for border protection and invasion going on in all western countries backed by the globalist/Zionist!
If it is true.
Oh come on people. this is all part of the game divide and conquer, keep them fighting amongst themselves!! Let me get this straight they come from south America country’s not stopping at any borders or paying no heed to law or rule but when they get to our border the final border to where they want to be they stop and wait to be allowed in I say Nay Nay !! Do you really think that throwing out all non americans is going to solve our problems? Our government iin it’s present state is our problem !!When people on here start seeing the real problem then we will start to fix the mess we have let this country get into I care where no man is from if he is civil to me and mine he is welcome at my fire and to share what I have to eat Where is the Christianity that this country is so full of or is it full of something else !!!!
You say you have no problem with this invasion?
When one of these mother f-kers steps over the line, they take something from every American national and what is mine is not yours or any other mother f-kers’ to give away.
This is an invasion.
No, I don’t think throwing out all non-Americans is the answer to our problems. I think crushing the corporation and then throwing every mother f-king invader out is the answer.
This country and all its wealth belongs to the American nationals, exclusively, and the only way that ownership can be transferred lawfully is through the common law courts that the fraudulent United States Corporation has removed.
These f-king invaders know exactly what they are doing. They are taking what belongs to another people.
If you want to share a fire with them and share what you have with them you can take your ass on out of this country, because it is not your call.
Totally agree, Henry, except you were too nice to that troll. Why do all these “Americans” want to give away everything? As you said, it is NOT theirs to give.