Armed vigilante shoots BLM protester in New Mexico

A Black Lives Matter protestor was shot on Monday night as demonstrators in New Mexico’s largest city tried to tear down a bronze statue of a Spanish conquistador outside the Albuquerque Museum, prompting the city to announce that the statue would be removed until officials determine the next steps.

The man was taken to a hospital but his condition was not immediately known, said Albuquerque police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.

A confrontation erupted between protesters and an armed militia who were trying to protect the statue of Juan de Onate before protesters wrapped a chain around it and began tugging on it while chanting: “Tear it down.” 

Moments later a few gunshots could be heard down the street and people started yelling that someone had been shot.

“We are receiving reports about vigilante groups possibly instigating this violence," Albuquerque Police Chief Michael Geier said. 

"If this is true will be holding them accountable to the fullest extent of the law, including federal hate group designation and prosecution.”

Gallegos said the militia were disarmed and taken into custody for questioning as police worked to secure the scene. 

He said detectives will be investigating but he did not immediately release any other information.

'Tragic, outrageous and unacceptable'

“This is not the first report of heavily armed civilian militias appearing at protests around New Mexico in recent weeks. These extremists cannot be allowed to silence peaceful protests or inflict violence,” US Senator Martin Heinrich said.

He also called on the Department of Justice to investigate.

“The shooting tonight was a tragic, outrageous and unacceptable act of violence and it has no place in our city,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. 

“Our diverse community will not be deterred by acts meant to divide or silence us. Our hearts go out the victim, his family and witnesses whose lives were needlessly threatened tonight. This sculpture has now become an urgent matter of public safety.”

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said she was "horrified and disgusted beyond words" by the violence.

“The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a' civil guard,' were there for one reason: To menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force. To menace the people of New Mexico with weaponry — with an implicit threat of violence — is on its face unacceptable; that violence did indeed occur is unspeakable," she said in a statement.

Grisham, who has campaigned on her heritage as a 12th-generation New Mexican, called the statue's removal a “step in the right direction" in a Twitter post.

By Monday evening, dozens had joined a celebratory gathering with Native American dancing and drumming outside the cultural center where demonstrators left hand prints in red paint on the empty statue pedestal.

Meanwhile, the scene in Albuquerque turned into chaos as people ran for cover following the gunfire. Police in riot gear could be seen taking at least two people into custody.

Monuments to European conquerors and colonists around the world are being pulled down amid an intense re-examination of racial injustices in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of police.

Albuquerque city officials have promised to convene a council of community leaders and artists to consider the concerns about the public art piece as they look for “creative solutions.”

Titled “La Jornada,” the sculpture depicts Onate leading a group of Spanish settlers to what was then the northern-most province of New Spain in 1598. The collection of statues includes an indigenous guide, a priest, women settlers and soldiers. The names of the families who accompanied Onate are listed on plaques below as part of the “Wall of Spanish Ancestral Heritage.”

“Recent calls for altering ‘La Jornada’ remind us that works of art often challenge communities to debate ideas, pursue empathy, grapple with multiple perspectives, reconcile conflict and interrogate history,” said Shelle Sanchez, head of the city's Cultural Services Department.

Onate

Onate, who arrived in present-day New Mexico in 1598, is celebrated as a cultural father figure in communities along the Upper Rio Grande that trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers. But he’s also reviled for his brutality.

To Native Americans, Onate is known for having ordered the right feet cut off of 24 captive tribal warriors that was precipitated by the killing of Onate’s nephew. In 1998, someone sawed the right foot off the statue — an incident that weighed in the decision to stash away the statue.

READ MORE:  Why monuments to tyranny must fall