Posted on 01/19/2019 5:05:50 PM PST by yesthatjallen
A federal judge on Friday reportedly found four women guilty of misdemeanors after they illegally entered a national wildlife refuge along the US-Mexico border to leave water and food for undocumented migrants.
According to The Arizona Republic, the four women were aid volunteers for No More Deaths, an advocacy group dedicated to ending the deaths of undocumented immigrants crossing desert regions near the southern border.
One of the volunteers with the group, Natalie Hoffman, was found guilty of three charges against her, including operating a vehicle inside the Cabeza Prieta national wildlife refuge, entering a federally-protected wilderness area without a permit, and leaving behind gallons on water and bean cans.
The charges reportedly stemmed from an August 2017 encounter with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer at the wildlife refuge.
The other three co-defendants – which includes Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick – were reportedly passengers in Hoffman’s truck at the time and were also charged with entering federally-protected area without a permit in addition to leaving behind personal property.
Each of the women face up to six months in prison for the charges and a $500 fine after being found guilty.
In his three-page order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco reportedly wrote that the defendants did not “get an access permit, they did not remain on the designated roads, and they left water, food, and crates in the Refuge."
"All of this, in addition to violating the law, erodes the national decision to maintain the Refuge in its pristine nature," he continued.
He also criticized the No More Deaths group for failing to adequately warn the women of all of the possible consequences they faced for violating the protected area’s regulations, saying in his decision that “no one in charge of No More Deaths ever informed them that their conduct could be prosecuted as a criminal offense nor did any of the Defendants make any independent inquiry into the legality or consequences of their activities.”
Another volunteer with No More Deaths, Catherine Faggney, slammed Velasco’s ruling in a statement to The Arizona Republic.
“This verdict challenges not only No More Deaths volunteers, but people of conscience throughout the country,” Faggney said.
“If giving water to someone dying of thirst is illegal, what humanity is left in the law of this country?” she continued.
According to The Associated Press, the ruling marks the first conviction brought against humanitarian aid volunteers in ten years.
The only time these clowns want to to protect our Reserves is when legitimate users, like legal game hunters, want to use them.
They should be Trump supporters. Build the Wall, and no more deaths of illegal invaders crossing desert regions near the southern border.
So, as long as I am doing it to help those who chose to put themselves into dangerous situations... then I can rob banks to build massive trampolines at the bottom of popular BASE jumping sites. Right?
Build the wall and they won’t come.
Just curious, about leaving food and water in the desert. Is everything in sealed containers, to prevent evaporation and spoilage? How do illegals know to look for food and water?
And is the food culturally appropriate to the cultures of the aliens?
Bean Taco’s with heavy dose of hot peppers are appropriate food for south of the border folks, and those can last a week without refrigeration.
As for water, sealed bottled water does not evaporate quickly...good for a month.
They musta missed the sign...
“Please don’t feed the animals.”
They were lucky. If they had encountered coyotes or cartel runners, they would have learned some hard lessons much more quickly.
She needs to move to Flint. Oops! Too late.
In all seriousness the feds have evidence (cross border phone calls) the organization told people where the caches were. How is that not conspiracy?
These are not Cub Scouts on an outing.
Go live on a ranch that is proximate to the border. After that learning experience Your Mileage May Vary.
Much like the dopes that marry serial murderers in prison
Did natalie and crew leave tissue paper as well?
Humanity left when abortions were allowed up to the time of birth.
People who don’t respect our citizens, our laws or our borders surely are not going to respect our national treasures, such as wildlife reserves and parks. To them, it’s open space to be squatted on and claimed.
These are the same a-holes who step over the homeless on grates in the city and fully support aborting babies as a choice.
....... If that person dying of thirst was Trump ..... Would you give water to him??? ..... Sadly ..... I think I know the answer that they would spew ......
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