United Constitutional Patriots founder Larry Mitchell Hopkins, who also uses the alias of John Horton Jr., was taken into custody by FBI agents on Saturday for being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
A militia group who ignited controversy about the treatment of immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border are back in the headlines following the arrest of the group's leader.
“This is a dangerous felon who should not have weapons around children and families. Today’s arrest by the FBI indicates clearly that the rule of law should be in the hands of trained law enforcement officials, not armed vigilantes," New Mexico’s attorney general Hector Balderas said in a statement. Peter Simonson, executive director for the ACLU of New Mexico, told BuzzFeed that the militia does not have the grounds to make a citizen's arrest as those may only be made when a felony crime is committed. Illegal entry into the United States is a misdemeanor.
"We work with other federal agencies. Private groups like these, we typically don't reach out to," Border Patrol Agent Jose Romero told KVIA-TV in a March 2019 interview. Romero added that the group was allowed to remain on private land and observe."As long as they don't interact with and try to get involved in the midst of the immigration process, or enforcing the laws on the border. That's our job," he said.
The group frequently shares videos to social media of their interaction with migrants along the border, some of which show border patrol agents in the area.
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