District attorney files lawsuit against NM Civil Guard

KOB4 ALBUQUERQUE, ^ | July 14, 2020 07:41 AM | Ryan Laughlin & Megan Abundis

[Nateman]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- The Bernalillo County district attorney filed a lawsuit Monday against the New Mexico Civil Guard, a group that has showed up at protests in military-like uniforms, carrying guns, and telling people they are there to protect property.

"When you have self-appointed police officers and military units out there advancing their own form of justice, there is no democratic accountability," District Attorney Raul Torrez said. 

The lawsuit asks a judge to order the New Mexico Civil Guard to stop representing itself as a police force.

"What is affected is their ability to organize, train and operate as an unlawful group," Torrez said. 

The 39-page civil lawsuit names more than a dozen members of the group - pointing out one is a member of the "Proud Boys," a designated hate group. Another has a tattoo of a swastika, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also claims the group's "presence fostered and encouraged violence by counter-protestors." It specifically mentions Steven Baca, who is accused of shooting someone at a protest of a Juan de Oñate statue, and is not affiliated with the group.

New Mexico Civil Guard leader Bryce Provance said in a KOB 4 phone interview that city leaders are trying to divert the blame away from law enforcement over how the protest was handled that night.

"They are deflecting," he said. "The mayor and deputy chief ordered their officers not be in an area so that violence could be carried out against property against counter protestors and it backfired. Somebody got shot, and then we had to disarm the shooter, form a perimeter around him and hold him until police arrived and because of the mayor and deputy chief's ineptitude, they are going to deflect and try and charge us and sue us whatever they are going to do."

Torrez says the group still has the right to assemble, and still has the right to own guns and open carry in New Mexico.

However, he said they don't have the right to act as police.

"You don't have the right to act as an unlicensed and unlawful militia group," Torrez said.

Torrez said the lawsuit is the first-of-its-kind in the country, which means there are a lot of unknowns about jurisdiction, what role the federal government will play, and how it could impact other professional protective services. The DA's office teamed up with a legal group out of Georgetown that helped with litigation after the Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally turned deadly. 

A local defense attorney described what to expect over the next couple months as this lawsuit plays out in court.

"It's going to be a battle," Britany Schaffer, an attorney. "It's going to be interesting to see whether there's going to be counter claims. I imagine we will see at least a couple motions as to the constitutional issues and probably a motion to dismiss just based on the novelty of it. There hasn't been a case like this in the country, so I think there's not going to be a lot of precedence. The court is going to be on their toes to see whether this type of relief is even allowed. I think given the statutes as to operating without any kind of legal authority, those will be pretty straight forward."

"They are holding themselves out to be this legal authority that they are not. That's clear from their mission statement, it's clear from their actions, and that kind of vigilante is not allowed in our society," she added.

The New Mexico Civil Guard issued the following response to the lawsuit on Facebook:

The Governor is again falsely accusing the NMCG, and threatening charges. She could not label us as racists and terrorists or tie us to the shooter who none of us knew and is now trying another tactic.

She is trying to deflect from the fact that on her watch and Mayor Keller’s police were told to stand down and a man was shot. More individuals would have been hurt if we had not been there to do what APD wanted to do but the mayor and deputy chief ordered them not to. By ordering police to let protesters tear down statues and destroy property they made that situation violent if one cruiser would have been there there would have been no blood on the streets that day.

KOB 4 reached out to the militia's lawyer, but he declined to comment because he hadn't read the lawsuit in its entirety.

[Nateman]

Many folks here have complained about when are citizens going to take action against the lawless ruthless RATS. I post this story , admittedly a few days old, but apparently not posted here yet as an example of REAL Americans taking charge.

The ALBUQUERQUE police were ordered to stay away while a mob tried to take down a statue. Their plans to ferment Chaos and mayhem were interrupted by this private militia calling itself the New Mexico Civil guard. Of course the Empire is striking back here, if citizens pick up where the police have been ordered to stand down how are they going to sabotage the economy and blame it on the bad orange man?

Another group called the Proud Boys has already paid the price for interfering with RAT plots, with two of their men now in jail.

[Terry L Smith]

When the paid-for-by-tax-dollar-police-department is rendered as useless as tests on Ferdinand the bull by the also-paid-by-tax-dollar-elected- officials, the citizenry have no choice left to them.

[Big Red Badger]

Checked Your link and
4 yrs seems harsh.

[CedarDave]

The DA is a Soros-elected lawyer and he and the mayor, state AG and governor are all anti-individual. The governor especially (Michelle Lujan Grisham) has been busy shutting down small businesses who don’t obey her pandemic closure orders by sending State Police to them to enforce it and for restaurants have the state Environment Department pull their health permits.

Protests against all this are rising here and because she isn’t on the ballot this fall, residents have to vote Republican to slow down her disctatorship by electing Republicans this fall.

[marktwain]

Wow.

Novel lawsuit. There is no statute applicable, or the Governor would have used it.

Where is the harm they are claiming?

Apparantly the Governor is trying to establish that *only* the government has the authority to protect itself and others?

That has never been the case in the United States, though it is common in many other countries.

[CedarDave]

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[Mashood]

This district attorney is really gonna lose it when the judge and jury part starts after the citizenry policing.

[eastexsteve]

I don’t think New Mexico has constitutional leg to stand on in this one. The 2nd Amendment starts off with “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State..”

[Cen-Tejas]

If the Marxist’s politicians around the country continue to selectively withhold tax payer funded police protection from patriots, it’s an axiom that basic human survival instincts will take over and it won’t matter what ANY judge has to say about ANYTHING because “the people” are the ultimate “sovereign” and an armed population is going to protect themselves and their families, property AND STATUES no matter what.

************************************************************

The Federalist lends no aid to the belief that the Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of constitutional meaning, unanswerable for its interpretations to any authority but itself.

[CedarDave]

Does “well-regulated” mean “well-trained” or regulated as in the meaning of under control of a civil authority? I believe that you have to go back to the notes of the founding fathers for the correct interpretation and subsequent court decisions, including the most recent a few years ago, the Heller decision.

[Nateman]

...4 yrs seems harsh.

Of course it's harsh. RATs wanted to send exactly that message. If these girly men and woke girls face a beat down from real men defending themselves ANTIFA rebs might elect to stay in mommies basement instead.

[Nateman]

The DA is a Soros-elected lawyer and he and the mayor, state AG and governor are all anti-individual.

Thanks for that information. Even without knowing it I could have predicted that is the way it is.

[justme4now]

“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe.

The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops.”
(Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787)

[Nateman]

Where is the harm they are claiming?

The harm the NMCG are ACTUALLY doing is preventing mayhem and chaos, which the RATs obviously want . The RATS are DELIBERATELY trying to sabotage the economy . They are hoping voters will be fooled by the lies the Lamestream will broadcast that the economy is wrecked because of The Bad Orange Man.

Of course they can't say that in court so they will have to come up with some kind of lame argument. The point of the lawsuit is to send a message to similar groups the RAT machine is going to strike back. I think we should start a go fund me page and make these New Mexico Civil Guards guys rich!

[Nateman]

This district attorney is really gonna lose it ....

You can bet he's already got a RAT judge lined up. If the defense lawyer tries to argue against citizens taking the law into their own hands because the authorities have become lawless you can be sure whatever judge they get is going to disallow that defense.

[Nateman]

I don’t think New Mexico has constitutional leg to stand on in this one.

RATS don't give a sh*t about the rule of law. The law is whatever a RAT judge says it is for the moment.

[Rebelbase]

The Civil Guard needs to rename as ANTIFA and they could probably get some county back-door funding.

[Nateman]

...The Federalist lends no aid to the belief that the Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of constitutional meaning

The Court of Supreme Whim seized that power way back during Mulbury vs. Madison. Congress has had over 200 years to provide a amendment to counter so the remedy is not coming from them. This is why I am a big fan of Article V. It's the Constitutional way to get the Constitution back on track.

[lilypad]

Why does spell check capitalize Antifa? Just wondering.

[Mr. Jeeves]

"When you have self-appointed police officers and military units out there advancing their own form of justice, there is no democratic accountability," District Attorney Raul Torrez said.

Evidence of what truly terrifies the Left appears all the time - the prospect of facing actual justice.