EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks on Tuesday defended his office’s efforts to prosecute the instigators of a March 21 riot on the banks of the Rio Grande and said he feels a need to send a message that violent behavior will not be tolerated.
More than 200 asylum-seekers have been jailed in El Paso County on charges of participating in a riot by being part of a group that tore down concertina wire and fencing placed at the river by members of the Texas Army National Guard. Seven have been indicted on state felony charges ranging from assault on a public servant to criminal mischief for cutting the wire, Hicks said.
“While I’m not particularly concerned about immigration cases, I am concerned about violence and destruction of property, and that group moved forward in a way that caused damage to National Guardsmen,” Hicks said at a news conference Tuesday. “Guardsmen were punched in the face, they stomped on the knees of Guardsmen that can result in permanent injuries; one tried to get a gun away from a Guardsman – we don’t have to talk about how dangerous that is.”
El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks speaks at a news conference Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, on the March 21 confrontation between migrants and members of the Texas Army National Guard on the banks of the Rio Grande. (Shaun Felice/KTSM)
Hicks said about 1,000 migrants gathered at the riverbanks on March 21, and that a group of 425 pushed through the barriers placed by the soldiers and into the guardsmen themselves. He said about 300 people were arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety and charges were sought against some 220.
The arrests placed the El Paso County Jail at or near capacity, raising concerns of overcrowding.
Hicks said his office targeted nine individuals it identified as the instigators of the riot, but that federal officials apparently released two and have not been located. The other 200-plus face Class B misdemeanor charges of participating in a riot.
“If you are knowingly participating in a group and that group commits an offense like tearing down fencing or concertina wire, you are guilty of the actions of the group,” he said. “Once you see how that group is proceeding, it is on you to withdraw from the group. If you do not exit the group, you are guilty of the offenses” committed by the others.
When asked whether the state charges are necessary — given that the migrants could have otherwise just been deported by the U.S. Border Patrol — Hicks said yes. He also said the 220 riot prosecutions wouldn’t hinder prosecutions against regular criminals in El Paso.
“We will not sacrifice prosecution of victim-related crimes in El Paso to address these cases,” Hicks said. “I don’t know that we’re going to prosecute everyone — that’s on a case-by-case — but I do know we got to send the message violence and destruction is not going to be tolerated.”
When asked if the soldiers are actually impeding people from lawfully seeking asylum in the U.S., Hicks responded that small, orderly groups are being let through.
However, he said the March 21 group was aggressive and that the 425 were followed by hundreds more, including some who had to be “repelled” at the border by the Guard.
“I am concerned that if we don’t send that message that you cannot come to Gate 36 or any place in El Paso and perpetrate violence to get into the United States that we can stop them,” he said. “If they think they can perpetrate violence (at the border wall) destroy property to get into the United States, what is to stop them from coming across Paisano (Drive) and going into neighborhoods? And if they’re willing to tear down government property, what’s going to stop them from tearing down people’s backyards? If they’re willing to assault government officials, what stops them from assaulting our friends, our neighbors, our mothers and fathers. We have to send the message you can’t do that. We have to be a community of law and order.”
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