Immigration News 2014: Anti-Immigration Group Cancels El Paso, Texas Rally Amid Death Threats, Gets Accused of Pulling Gun on Activist
On Sunday, anti-immigration group Border Convoy canceled its protests in El Paso, Texas, amid death threats, only to be pulled over in the city by police for allegedly making threats of their own.
Border Convoy is "a coalition of citizens who share a deep concern for the invasion currently happening unchecked at our nation's borders," according to the group's official website. The group planned to travel from Southern California to South Texas with two stops in El Paso, El Paso Times reported, but they canceled their rally after getting death threats via Facebook. Eric Odom, the group's lead organizer, told KFOX14 that his group did not even feel safe stopping for gas.
Border Network for Human Rights, an El Paso-based group and "one of the leading immigration reform and human rights advocacy organizations in the United States," according to its website, was prepared to meet Border Convoy and posted members at three I-10 overpasses in the city, El Paso Times reported.
"Racism, being anti-immigrant, being anti-children, that is not welcome in El Paso," Fernando Garcia, executive director of BNHR, told KFOX14. "This message of hate, this message of deport children, this message of militarize the border, doesn't belong here so I think that is the reason we are here."
Border Convoy never stopped held its rally, but later in the day, police stopped the convoy of about 10 cars because someone claimed a member of the group threatened them with a rifle at around 5 p.m. Miguel Juarez said he followed the convoy to see if the group was going to hold a rally. Next, someone allegedly got out of a car and pointed a rifle at him for following the group.
Members of Border Convoy deny the allegations and claim an activist in a pickup truck forced them to pull over.
"We have the entire thing on video. ... That never happened," Odom said of the gun threat.
The incident is currently under investigation, Det. Mike Baranyay said.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.
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