EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — A migrant man repeatedly stomped on the knee of a National Guard member who fell as he tried to stop a large group from rushing the border, according to court documents.
The Texas Department of Public Safety on Saturday announced the arrest of 21-year-old Junior Everisto Benitez Martinez, of Honduras, in connection with the incident on March 21 at the border wall in El Paso’s Lower Valley.
DPS said a large group of migrants cut the National Guard’s concertina wire and forced their way to a gate at the wall that opens and closes but is not considered a port of entry.
Court documents state that Hayden Alexander Baugh, a member of the Texas Army National Guard, stood in front of the group but was pushed to the ground.
Baugh told DPS investigators that Benitez repeatedly stomped on his knee “purposefully and with malice.”
As the migrants made their way across the gate to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents, DPS Special Agent Ralph Torres asked Baugh to identify the person who allegedly assaulted him. Records state that Baugh recognized the alleged assailant by his clothes and the small amount of facial hair on his chin.
Although he was seen limping, Baugh refused medical attention.
Court documents also state that Baugh wanted to file charges and submitted a written statement of the incident.
Martinez denied hitting Baugh and said that there were many people at the gate.
He was charged with assault on a public servant, a 3rd-degree felony, and booked into the El Paso County Jail.
DPS said most of the migrants were single adult males from Venezuela.
That afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, said the National Guard and DPS “quickly regained control” and had begun installing additional barbed wire.
On Friday, he said more razor wire was installed and more Texas National Guard soldiers were deployed in El Paso today, and he shared photos of crews installing concertina wire in the area.
“We continue to redouble and reinforce our efforts,” Abbott said on X. “Texas will keep taking historic action to protect our state — and our nation — from Biden’s disastrous open border policies.”
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