U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- In New Mexico, on June 15, the police were pulled back, refusing to arrest people as they attempted to destroy public property. Leftist media called the situation a protest. It was a propaganda event meant to intimidate and demoralize.
Residents of the area, including local militia members, attempted to prevent the destruction of the statue. Mindful of a hostile, leftist media, armed militia members were careful not to engage in violence, or to be baited by leftist agitators.
Steven Baca, a former political candidate, was videoed scuffling with leftists who were working to destroy the statue. He appears to have taken the bait of one or two leftist women, shoving them out of the way, or pulling/pushing one to the ground. The local militia has said Baca is not associated with them.
Baca decided to retreat from the event, perhaps after being threatened by masked leftists. He is struck with a green skateboard, wielded by a masked man in black clothes, but remains upright and continues to retreat. A group of leftists pursue him, strike him again, and knock him to the ground. As he is on the ground, being attacked, he fires a pistol four times, striking one of the attackers. One of his attackers has a skateboard. It may be the person who struck him earlier, but it is not clear.
A few seconds later a person is seen running from the area, holding a skateboard.
Link to bitchute video of the event
KRQE characterized the incident as militia members firing at protestors. From krqe.com:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Albuquerque Police Department has identified the man arrested in connection to the shooting of a protester near Old Town on Monday, June 15. Video posted to Facebook shows protesters trying to tear down the statue of conquistador Juan de Oñate on the corner of Mountain and 19th Street.
Shortly after, APD says an armed militia calling themselves the New Mexico Civil Guards fired shots at protesters. One person was hit and is now fighting for their life in the hospital.
Once police arrived at the scene in armored vehicles, cell phone video sent in after the shooting shows members of the civil guard on the ground getting handcuffed. Witnesses at the scene tell KRQE News 13 dozens of individuals called APD for help before the shooting as tensions rose but police arrived after the protester was shot. Police say the individuals were taken into custody for questioning. Tear gas was thrown by authorities into the crowd to keep people away from the scene.
The organized militia had nothing to do with the shooting, which seems to be justified self-defense.
Under American law, you are not allowed to start an altercation, then escalate it, then use deadly force, and be justified in doing so.
If you are involved in an altercation, then retreat, attempting to end the altercation, you regain your ability to use force, even deadly force, in self-defense. Clickondetroit.com gives a more complete picture of what happened.
Stephen Ray Baca, 31, was arrested and jailed on suspicion of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Baca was once a candidate for the Albuquerque City Council and is the son of a former Bernalillo County sheriff.
Baca had been among those trying to protect the statue when protesters “appeared to maliciously pursue him,” according to a criminal complaint. Video posted on social media showed protesters hitting Baca with a skateboard, punching him and chasing him before he opened fire.
Mayor Tim Keller said during a news conference that Baca appeared to be “agitating at the protest well before this shooting took place.” The mayor pointed to a video that showed Baca throwing a woman to the ground and said investigators were still interviewing witnesses, reviewing video and working on a full account of what happened. It wasn’t clear what precipitated the interaction with Baca and the woman.
This source contains a video showing the altercation between Baca and the women at the statue. From koat.com:
Witnesses and cell phone video show Stephen Ray Baca shoving several female protesters to the ground in an attempt to “protect” the statue.
Steven Baca (Steven is correct, Stephan is an error) was arrested and charged. When the video showing the confrontation surfaced, the charges were, at least temporarily, dropped. None of Baca’s attackers have been arrested or charged.
Mayor Keller went further. He stated he wishes to amend the New Mexico Constitution to give cities the ability to decide who may be armed, and when they would be allowed to do so. It seems Mayor Keller is allied with the group that attacked Baca. This is how political terror works. Remove legal protections from the population; use political power to immunize the unaccountable enforcers, often designated as “community” groups.
It is difficult to do this when the victims are legally armed.
Still, Keller said he was concerned about the group and used the incident to call on state lawmakers to consider gun control measures during their next session, specifically a possible amendment to the state Constitution that would give cities the power to regulate the right to bear arms.
At the same time, political terrorists claim the victims are evil people who must be controlled or destroyed. They are the designated scapegoats, who are allowed to be attacked and victimized.
Why haven’t any of the people who attacked Baca been arrested? Until they are, the working assumption is because they are political allies of Mayor Keller.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Baca made the fundamental mistake of trying to be a citizen of a Constitutional Republic while living in a Progressive Utopia. Here is the rule of law at work in this blue paradise: show me the man and I will show you the crime. Prosecutors will put on a show trial and vilify him in the press well before the case is actually completed. The next step will be more city and county measures to make sure that citizens are fully disarmed in the face of thugs like Antifa. And they call this progress.
After watching the protests, looting, and burning of buildings in some of the large cities in the U.S. I noticed in many of the videos people were carrying skateboards and using them to break windows or attack someone.
The person who hit the guy with the skateboard needs to be found and charged with aggravated assault with intent to do bodily harm and put in jail.
@Dean – I agree with your analysis of events surrounding this shooting. Have been writing the same on moderate and leftist forums wherever this shooting is discussed and hope that other readers will do the same. Baca was scapegoated for defending himself and other than the hospitalized individual his attackers have escaped all consequences for their actions. NG arresting militia members went way above and beyond. My understanding is that after the shooting militia members surrounded Baca, effectively holding him for law enforcement while protecting him from the agitated mob. For saving lives they were zip tied, arrested, and publicly… Read more »
This raises several important questions. Why didn’t the APD respond in a timely manner? Were they ordered not to respond and quiet things down. Why was Baca in an alteration with the two women? Did they attack him. After being beaten was Baca in fear of his life? If so then it was a justified shooting. Finally, why were the militia, who were not involved in the shooting, harassed, and none of the vandals treated likewise. All of this seems to be politically motivated.
Bullies of the New Left | An Organized Opposing Force of “Brownshirts”
by Ken Jorgustin | Jun 10, 2020 | LESSONS FROM HISTORY
“The “Bullies” of the New Left are groups like Antifa, BLM and others. It has been exceedingly clear. Their violence and rioting has gone unabated in cities governed by far leftists mayors and governors. They are, in essence, the enforcers – the intimidators – the agitators for New Left ideals, goals and aspirations.”
Continue Reading:
https://modernsurvivalblog.com/lessons-from-history/bullies-of-the-new-left-organized-opposing-force/
@wjd, BATFE was created by a memo from the then Sec. Treas. BATFE can be eliminated by revoking that memo. Infra: Who or What is the BATF? by Dan Meador. B.A.T.F. from I.R.S. On June 6, 1972 Acting Secretary of the Treasury, Charles E. Walker signed Treasury Order Number 120-01 which establishes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. He did this with the stroke of his PEN citing, “by virtue of the authority vested in me as Secretary of the Treasury, including the authority in Reorganization Plan No. 26 of 1950.” He ordered the, “transfer, as specified herein, the… Read more »
Meanwhile: Firearms Banned In Albuquerque City Parks https://www.kunm.org/post/firearms-banned-albuquerque-city-parks Matt Ross, communications director for Keller’s office, said Friday evening the new order is an extension of efforts the city began last year to prohibit weapons in facilities used for educating young people. “We issued that first administrative order to make it clear that the state law that applies to schools also applies to community centers,” Ross wrote in a text message, referencing a state law that prohibits deadly weapons at facilities used for school-related activities. “This latest administrative instruction makes it clear that law also applies to city parks and recreation… Read more »
Please correct me if wrong, but was Baca legally carrying? NM does not require permit for open carry, but from a quick look on the internet, concealed carry in NM requires a license and from what I could see he seemed to be carrying concealed prior to attack. IMO, his self-defense was justified, but I would think he will likely be charged with illegal carry, especially if the mayor is aligned with the Left.
How long before these commie rat bastards(Read Democrat) are taken to task for their flouting of the constitutional laws that have served this country for centuries. Even some of the SCOTUS judges have decided to disregard the constitution.
As Americans, we have the right and duty to defend ourselves and others. We have no problem with the ability to protect lives and property with 400 million guns in the right hands. The BIG problem is our leftist, elitist, cowardly politicians who have screwed up so badly with corruption and failed programs for decades, now covering their tracks by teaming up with Antifa and BLM, engineering societal breakdown. They believe a reset will save them, but they are wrong. ALL YOU SEE THEM DOING IS DONE ON PURPOSE.