Threats proliferate on social media following N.M. gun ban - Austin Fisher and Andrew Beale, Source New Mexico
A Source New Mexico review of posts on social media by elected officials and other users following the public health order issued in New Mexico on Sept. 8 shows numerous calls for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to be hanged or killed by other means, and for the publication of private information about Lujan Grisham, her family and staff.
Threats were made in various forums, including the comments section of a website owned by a state representative, and during a rally attended by several state Republican party officials.
New Mexico State Police say they are aware of threats against Lujan Grisham and her family in the wake of a public health order that temporarily banned carrying firearms in New Mexico’s most populous county, but have not made any arrests.
“Any credible threats of violence against a public official are investigated, no matter the source,” said Department of Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie. “Individuals engaging in this form of threats or intimidation will be held accountable.”
OPEN THREATS AT GUN RALLY
At a rally defying the order in Albuquerque’s Old Town Neighborhood on Sept. 9, a few in the back of the crowd called for killing Lujan Grisham. A woman repeatedly said, “hang that b****.”
One attendee told a reporter unprompted that he’s “to the right of Attila The Hun,” and he thinks we need to bring back public hangings.
Lujan Grisham has repeatedly pointed to the death of an 11-year-old Albuquerque boy in a road rage incident as an example of the kind of gun violence her order seeks to prevent. A preacher who spoke to the crowd from the Old Town gazebo wondered aloud whether the 11-year-old’s death was a “false flag” to give pretext for the governor’s emergency order.
Among the rally’s attendees were Rep. Stefani Lord, a Republican member of the state House of Representatives from Sandia Park, Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block, state Senate candidate Nicole Tobiassen, and U.S. Senate candidates Eric Knight and Ben Luna.
In a social media post on Sept. 11, Block compared Lujan Grisham’s gun order to the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center.
“Never forget the Islamic extremists who attacked and killed thousands of innocent Americans in Shanksville, PA, the Pentagon, and the World Trade Center 22 years ago. Today, extremists come in all forms to either kill you or take away your rights,” he wrote. “One extremist a few days ago attacked our constitutional rights. Always stand guard, never forget, and always fight for your God-given rights and your beautiful country.”
The post included pictures of the World Trade Center towers exploding in the terrorist attack next to a picture of Lujan Grisham’s face.
In an interview, Block said he did not intend the post as a comparison between the governor and al Qaeda.
“I’m talking about extremism on many sides,” he said. “What she did was extreme.”
Asked if he thinks the post was potentially offensive to families who lost loved ones on 9/11, Block said none have contacted him to complain.
“You could even say how offensive it is that we have 6,000 more abortions in the state of New Mexico, because the governor is funding them,” he said. “I find it offensive that the southern border is open and the governor took away the National Guard.”
Asked on Friday about the heightened rhetoric, Lujan Grisham said it is not surprising but “incredibly disgusting.”
She said any time she talks about gun violence or background checks, there is “a significant uptick” in threats against her.
“I’ve been compared to Hitler, to al Qaeda, to ISIS, you name it. It’s a slurry of slurs,” Lujan Grisham said. “This is not the kind of discourse I recognize in my state or my community.”
STATE REPRESENTATIVE’S WEBSITE HOSTS THREATS
The Piñon Post, a website run by Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), has published more than a dozen stories about the executive order, calling it “an illegal order” and condemning “gun-grabbing Gov. MLG.”
Block, an unindicted participant in the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, has called for Lujan Grisham’s impeachment, and called her a “tyrant” in a social-media post. In another post, he encouraged followers to defy the executive order. He also retweeted a post by Senate candidate Eric Knight comparing the gun ban to the circumstances that led to the American Revolution in 1776.
In the Piñon Post’s comments section, Block’s readers demanded blood.
One commenter opined that “(Lujan) Grisham needs to be taken out back and beaten senseless,” and another wrote “let her swing whilst her feet kick!!!” A commenter compared Lujan Grisham to a rodent and wrote “too bad DeCon [rat poison] won’t work on a rat of that size” and another wrote “Don’t worry, I have a shotgun to back up the Constitution.”
In response to questions from Source NM about the threats hosted on his site, Block said he removed the comments flagged for him by this publication.
“I get countless comments daily, and I don’t have time to read each and every one missed by the spam or expletive filters,” he said in an email. “I never have, and I never will condone violence against anyone. I totally disavow any and all calls for violence in any form on any platform.”
Block said he had also received death threats, along with Rep. Lord and state Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana). He provided a screenshot of a message he said was sent to the three politicians, which did not contain a death threat.
“God knows how to stop gun violence… Have every gun owner shoot themselves in their head with their own gun,” the message read.
Some comments threatening violence remained on Block’s site as of Friday evening, including one commentator who seemed to threaten a repeat of the Jan. 6 riot (“It just means we are one step closer to having fun storming the castle, as they said in the Princess Bride”) and another wishing death on the governor (“someone please make her ‘null and void’”).
Block and Lord penned an op-ed calling for the governor’s impeachment that ran on Fox News’ website on Sept. 16. When Lord posted a link to the article on social media, several commentators advocated violence against the governor in the replies to her post.
“You need to bring the military or the constitution doesn’t mean crap… have the military drag her out TODAY!” wrote one. “Impeachment since tar and feathering has fallen from favor” wrote another.
CLEMENTS CHAT FILLED WITH THREATS
Former New Mexico State University professor David Clements, the state’s most prominent election denier, posted numerous times on social media about the governor’s gun order, claiming she “endangered every law enforcement officer in the city” and writing “Come and get ‘em. And see what happens” in reference to his guns.
The violent ideation was even more explicit in a chatroom he maintains on the social-messaging app Telegram. In the days following the order, Clements’ followers made numerous explicit threats of violence against the governor.
One of Clements’ followers wrote Lujan Grisham “needs to be put out force ably (sic)” while another called for tarring and feathering the governor. A man claiming to be “a police officer of rank” in Arizona encouraged Clements’ followers to make a citizens’ arrest, while another wrote “her untimely death should be soon.”
Clements has openly encouraged political violence, once telling a crowd assembled at Gospel Light Baptist Church in Rio Rancho that voting is useless and politicians should be “tried for treason and have the remedy of firing squads.”
“That’s what we need, and we need to focus on that,” he said.
Last year, acting on advice from Clements and his wife Erin, the Otero County Commission refused to certify the results of New Mexico’s primary election. Jay Block of the Sandoval County Commission also followed the Clements’ advice and refused to certify election results; he was outvoted by a majority of that commission.
New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and some of her staff were deluged with death threats when her office moved to force Otero County to certify the results.
Toulouse Oliver said Friday threats of physical violence and acts of intimidation have become more and more common toward elected officials “in our polarized political environment.”
“We need to turn the temperature down for the sake of all Americans,” she said. “There is no place for threats and violence in our democratic republic and I strongly condemn these threats being made against the Governor, her family, and her staff.”
In response to questions from Source NM, Clements called Lujan Grisham “a domestic terrorist” and a “power hungry tyrant.” In an email, he said he suspects the threats in his chat were planted by Source NM as “fodder for the article” (they were not), even while advocating armed resistance to the order, writing in the email “The 2nd Amendment was created for this very purpose.”
Clements’ assertions about Source NM are wrong.
‘IT’S BEEN A PATTERN FOR YEARS’
Media Matters For America, a liberal watchdog organization, identified examples of comments from users of the r/conspiracy subreddit calling for militias in New Mexico to be mobilized and for the governor to be hanged for treason.
A user on Sept. 9 called the governor a “tyrant,” asking, “Can we…. you know,? Short drop and quick stop.” The phrase appears to be a reference to hanging. Another user on the same day called for the governor to be “publicly hung for treason.”
Reddit prohibits content that “encourages,” “incites,” or “calls for violence,” and the site has previously punished subreddits for violating that policy.
Reddit administrators removed the violating content and users, a spokesperson for Reddit said. But as of Monday, they left the subreddit as a whole intact.
The r/conspiracy subreddit is one of the bigger conspiracy forums on the internet, according to Alex Kaplan, a senior researcher with MMFA who first reported on the threats against the governor.
Kaplan has seen other types of hate speech proliferate on the forum, including antisemitism, homophobia, and transphobia, along with anti-vaccine misinformation, and false flag conspiracy theories.
Then-governor of Oregon Kate Brown in 2019 received similar threats on the r/The_Donald subreddit, which Reddit quarantined from the rest of its website after Kaplan wrote about the violent rhetoric.
“Reddit has so far not taken that same response here,” Kaplan said. “It’s not even just that there were a couple comments. It is a pattern. And it’s been a pattern for years.”
MUSK CALLS FOR GOVERNOR’S ARREST
Elon Musk wrote on the social media platform he owns that the governor’s actions are “next-level illegal,” and asked, “How soon can this person be removed from office?”
Several hours later, far-right conspiracy theorist Tim Pool posted a video of Lujan Grisham and wrote “Police should arrest her immediately.” Musk responded “Yes.”
The leader of a social media company engaging in that kind of heated language can have downstream effects that might encourage violence, Kaplan said.
He said Musk’s “general attitude towards certain content, certain people has probably emboldened some of the far right on (his site) and elsewhere.”
After Musk’s posts, a prominent conspiracy theorist on the website tagged Musk in a threat to doxx Lujan Grisham, her family, and a spokesperson if any New Mexico State Police officer enforced the order.
The account has been suspended for making violent threats in the past and was boosted by a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona.
GOVERNOR SAYS TRUMP ENCOURAGED FEAR TACTICS
Lujan Grisham said she has long disagreed with elected officials in both parties, but it’s primarily Republicans who “make those kinds of hateful, directed, spiteful, intentional (statements) — knowing that that intimidation factor could result in my direct harm.”
She said she and her colleagues have been targeted by similar rhetoric since 2016, when she was a representative in Congress, and it reached a fever pitch in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said former president Donald Trump “invited that kind of intimidation and fear tactics to prevent elected leaders and policymakers from doing their job.”
Lujan Grisham said many Republicans in New Mexico and nationwide “offer no solutions to addressing public safety in our state, but would rather increase tensions by those reckless statements.”
Shaun Griswold and Patrick Lohmann contributed reporting.
Democratic congressman will support a resolution condemning New Mexico governor – Santa Fe New Mexican
Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez plans to vote for a resolution condemning Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her recent public health order that sough limits on firearms.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the congressman from southern New Mexico called himself a responsible gun owner and said he would support “common sense solutions that reduce gun violence.”
The governor’s original order sought to prohibit concealed and open carry of firearms in Bernalillo County. A series of lawsuits followed and protests. The governor amended her order last week to prohibit carrying weapons to parks and playgrounds in Bernalillo County.
The resolution by House Republicans was due for consideration on Tuesday afternoon, but has been pulled for now. It would be nonbinding and condemns Lujan Grisham for, quote, “blatantly violating the Second Amendment to the Constitution.”
House Democrats said the debate was a waste of time as the government comes closer to a shutdown on September 30.
Very Large Array could have a data center on UNM campus – Santa Fe New Mexican
The Very Large Array in southwestern New Mexico is expanding and that could mean a new center on the University of New Mexico campus.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports UNM has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. It’s a federally funded agency that oversees the giant radio telescopes in Magdalena.
The two will explore creating a center that would offer training, internships and job opportunities for UNM astronomy students. The Observatory plans to replace 27 of its radio telescopes with about 260 new ones over the next two decades. Over 160 of those new telescopes will be at the current array site and the bulk of the rest will be in New Mexico.
The telescopes function as one instrument that collects space signals. The agreement calls for UNM and the Observatory to develop plans for other collaborations around the state.
The construction project is estimated to cost $2 billion and the expanded array will have an annual operating cost of $90 million.
Activists say trapping ban has been a boon for New Mexico wildlife — Daniel Montaño, KUNM News
New data from the state show a law banning animal traps has had a positive effect on numerous species since it has been implemented, and activists say they have seen a significant drop in the number of people reporting negative encounters with traps.
Since April of 2022, recreational and commercial trapping has been illegal in New Mexico thanks to Roxy’s Law — which was named for a senior dog that was caught in a trap, while her owners were unable to free her before she died.
The total number of protected species killed by trappers in the most recent season was down by 40 percent. The grey fox and the beaver in particular had their trapped numbers reduce by about half.
Chris Smith a wildlife advocate with WildEarth Guardians said the law is working exactly as intended and as a result fewer animals are “being brutally killed for private profit.”
Activists say the result falls in line with public opinion, which has turned away from fur in recent years, with a growing number of fashion companies refusing to buy or sell fur.
The law isn’t without opponents though. The new Mexico chapter of The National Trappers Association has filed a lawsuit regarding the ban that is ongoing.
APS employee and his son arrested on child pornography charges — KUNM News, The Albuquerque Journal
A longtime elementary school janitor and his son have been arrested by federal officers on charges related to child pornography.
The Albuquerque journal reports Thomas Abeyta has worked at Wherry elementary since 2008, but has been with Albuquerque Public Schools for 24 years and also worked at Governor Bent Elementary, La Mesa Elementary and Jefferson Middle schools. He is facing charges of distributing and possessing of child pornography.
The FBI raided Abeyta’s home on Friday, finding hundreds of sexually explicit photos and videos depicting children. During the investigation, Abeyta sent undercover investigators photos of three different pairs of girls underwear he said he found at Wherry Elementary.
Principal Aimee Sewell sent a letter to Wherry families saying Abeyta was immediately placed on administrative leave when they were notified by the FBI, adding “It’s a stark reminder schools are not immune from the challenges of the world.”
Carlos Abeyta, Thomas’s son, was also arrested and is facing a charge of possessing content depicting the sexual exploitation of children, and authorities say they found hundreds of pictures and videos across several of his devices.
ABQ purchases 145 acres of new open space land — Bryce Dix, KUNM News
The City of Albuquerque has acquired 145 acres of new open space land at the base of the Manzano mountains.
The city bought the Diamond Rock property for $1.4 Million and it’s meant to preserve wildlife habitats in danger of city development and serve as a place for public recreation and education.
Also included with the purchase is a historic building that used to serve as a saloon and a feed store. Albuquerque Parks and Recreation plans to eventually turn it into an open space center.
Nestled between the Manzano/Four Hills open space and the Route 66/Tijeras Arroyo Open Space, the newly acquired land was purchased with money from general obligation bonds, though it’s expected that more will be needed to finish the proposed open space visitor center.
That, and a proposed 2023 general obligation bond package aims to establish an education center in the Tijeras Arroyo BioZone space.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, a public meeting to create a site plan is scheduled for Oct. 14. Currently, a mixed-use trail is being considered.
Congress passes bill to rename Gallup veterans clinic for Korean War Vet - Bryce Dix, KUNM News
Congress has passed legislation to rename the Gallup Veterans Affairs clinic to honor the late Corporal Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura, who died on November 29, 2022.
According to a press release, the legislation was pushed by several New Mexico lawmakers –– including Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández and Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan.
Corporal Miyamura was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in the Korean War and championed the opening for the Gallup clinic, which opened in 2015.
Serving over 1500 veterans in the area, the Gallup Veterans Affairs clinic narrowly avoided closure last year from staffing and other issues.
The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
New Mexico regulators want feds to excavate LANL unlined waste pit –Santa Fe New Mexican
Officials with the New Mexico Environment Department have rejected a federal proposal to cap and cover an unlined waste pit at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported the plan by the U.S. Energy Department has a $12 million price tag. But the Environment Department says the best option is to excavate the site at an estimated cost of $805 million. It says that removes the source of contamination and the need for long-term monitoring.
Federal officials want to cover the pit with a 2-foot-thick rock and dirt cap and contend that would be safer than digging up radioactive waste. State regulators argue excavation would remove the hazards completely, including the threat to groundwater, and if done correctly would not endanger workers.
There will be a public comment period, and at least one hearing, before the state decides on a final plan. The dumpsite opened in 1948 and was shut down in 1974.
Federal authorities announce plan to safeguard sacred tribal lands in New Mexico's Sandoval County — Associated Press,Santa fe New Mexican
In an effort to safeguard sacred tribal lands, federal authorities say there is a plan to protect more than 4,000 acres within the Placitas area in New Mexico's Sandoval County.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the announcement comes in response to a proposed gravel mine that has rallied locals around San Felipe and Santa Ana pueblos in vehement opposition, saying operations would damage the environment, which includes a vital wildlife corridor and sacred ancestral lands.
The U.S. Department of the Interior and federal Bureau of Land Management say a proposed mineral withdrawal would bar new mining claims and oil and gas development in the area for 50 years, subject to valid and existing rights.
Authorities say the federal proposal would help protect, preserve and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values and wildlife habitat connectivity within the Placitas area near Albuquerque.
A 90-day public comment period began Monday and will run through Dec. 13.
State Supreme court overturns woman’s conviction citing warrantless search — KUNM News
The New Mexico Supreme Court Tuesday overturned a Clovis’ woman’s drug conviction, saying her constitutional protection against unreasonable searches was violated when police conducted a warrantless search of the woman’s purse.
In a unanimous decision, the Court said both prosecutors and district courts have “obligations to make a sufficient record when considering the propriety of warrantless searches and when taking judicial notice” of the facts of a case, according to a news release.
Warrantless searches are always considered unreasonable, and the burden is on the state to prove the search was reasonable under the circumstances.
Clovis Police arrested Kaylee Ortiz on a warrant for criminal trespass. After handcuffing her, they searched a purse that had been hanging off her shoulder and found methamphetamine.
The district court in Curry County originally said the search was proper because the purse would have been inventoried and searched at the jail anyway, but the Supreme Court said there was no evidence in the record from prosecutors or the judiciary that the search “would have inevitably discovered the methamphetamine.”
The court ordered the case back to the district court to vacate Ortiz’s felony conviction and sentence for possession of a controlled substance
Federal authorities announce plan to safeguard sacred tribal lands in New Mexico's Sandoval County — Associated Press,Santa fe New Mexican
In an effort to safeguard sacred tribal lands, federal authorities say there is a plan to protect more than 4,000 acres within the Placitas area in New Mexico's Sandoval County.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the announcement comes in response to a proposed gravel mine that has rallied locals around San Felipe and Santa Ana pueblos in vehement opposition, saying operations would damage the environment, which includes a vital wildlife corridor and sacred ancestral lands.
The U.S. Department of the Interior and federal Bureau of Land Management say a proposed mineral withdrawal would bar new mining claims and oil and gas development in the area for 50 years, subject to valid and existing rights.
Authorities say the federal proposal would help protect, preserve and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values and wildlife habitat connectivity within the Placitas area near Albuquerque.
A 90-day public comment period began Monday and will run through Dec. 13.
State Supreme court overturns woman’s conviction citing warrantless search — KUNM News
The New Mexico Supreme Court Tuesday overturned a Clovis’ woman’s drug conviction, saying her constitutional protection against unreasonable searches was violated when police conducted a warrantless search of the woman’s purse.
In a unanimous decision, the Court said both prosecutors and district courts have “obligations to make a sufficient record when considering the propriety of warrantless searches and when taking judicial notice” of the facts of a case, according to a news release.
Warrantless searches are always considered unreasonable, and the burden is on the state to prove the search was reasonable under the circumstances.
Clovis Police arrested Kaylee Ortiz on a warrant for criminal trespass. After handcuffing her, they searched a purse that had been hanging off her shoulder and found methamphetamine.
The district court in Curry County originally said the search was proper because the purse would have been inventoried and searched at the jail anyway, but the Supreme Court said there was no evidence in the record from prosecutors or the judiciary that the search “would have inevitably discovered the methamphetamine.”
The court ordered the case back to the district court to vacate Ortiz’s felony conviction and sentence for possession of a controlled substance.