Thread: 3 Arrested in Calif. Border Protest

3 Arrested in Calif. Border Protest
9 minutes ago

CALEXICO, Calif. (AP) — Border Patrol agents clashed with demonstrators at a boundary fence Monday, resulting in three arrests.

Border Patrol agents fired tear gas and hit protesters with batons, said Rich Macgurn, a protester with No Borders Camp, a group that organized the demonstration.

"They were indiscriminately firing pepper spray and charging the crowd," he said. "It's really outrageous the way they behaved."

No Borders Camp, which describes itself as a group that opposes borders, posted a video of the clash on its Web site.

The fence separates Calexico, about 120 miles east of San Diego, and Mexicali, Mexico.

Border Patrol and Calexico police officials did not return phone messages Monday. The Imperial Valley Press reported that Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, said the demonstrators had begun to destroy government property and assaulted agents.

The three demonstrators were arrested on suspicion of assaulting federal agents, the newspaper reported.

Demonstrators were kissing through steel-mesh fence holes when agents forced those on the U.S. side to step away, Macgurn said.

On its Web site, No Borders Camp said the demonstration was to last seven days, ending Monday, with protesters on both sides of the border.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iyNn ... AD8SSISQ00


http://noborderscamp(dot)org/no-borders-videos

Video is a bunch of idiots that don't know what the words "get back" means. Nice, they called the Hispanic BP a "race traitor" and "traitors to their own people".

There is a sign hanging on the fence (Federal Property) also, there was a hole in the fence near the area they were telling them to get away from.

Stupid is as stupid does and that video proves it.

Boreing! Yawn. Video rating: Two thumbs down.

Dixie

These idiots should be on their own border with Guatemala demanding the same thing. Funny how Mexico guards its borders dearly whil allowing their impoverished to flow freely.

These morons should be gald they weren't thrown into a federal work camp for treason then deported. Obviously these people don't consider themselves to be Americans, we should kick them out.

In response to the post before mine, its to bad our presient and our other elected officials can't seem to comprehend this fact about Mexico and its border with its neighbors to the south. They do protect their border and flip out when we want to do the same. How stupid can these folks in Washington be? We have the right to do the same on our border with them. But we have got IDIOTS for president and congress. Not all mind you but those who are for open borders are the ones I am speaking of.

thank goodness I am not a Border Patrol agent... these people are about as goofy as they come... the last thing you would have heard from the crowd would be "Dont Taze Me Bro"

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

thank goodness I am not a Border Patrol agent... these people are about as goofy as they come... the last thing you would have heard from the crowd would be "Dont Taze Me Bro"

Priceless!

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

thank goodness I am not a Border Patrol agent... these people are about as goofy as they come... the last thing you would have heard from the crowd would be "Dont Taze Me Bro"

AirborneSapper7"][ your in rare form today ROFL

Man charged with assaulting Border Patrol agent in clash

The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
SAN DIEGO: A dancing bongo player who clashed with Border Patrol agents at a cross-border "kissing booth" set up to protest border enforcement pleaded not guilty Tuesday to assaulting a federal officer.

Juan Esteban Ruiz, of Madison, Wisconsin, "slammed" into an agent twice, once knocking him off balance, according to the complaint. Ruiz told authorities that he was "caught up in the moment" when he danced next to the agent and bumped into him.

Agents fired pepper spray and hit protesters with batons during the protest Sunday at the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Calexico, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) east of San Diego. Two other men were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a federal officer but have not been charged.

The Border Patrol defended its response, saying it stopped protesters from using metal bars to widen a hole in the steel fence. Protesters have claimed the hole was already there.

Ruiz, 21, was being held at Imperial County Jail after U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Lewis set bail at $10,000 (€6,846).

His court-appointed attorney, Diane Regan, said video of the clash showed the Border Patrol was aggressive toward the crowd and her client.

Ruiz "doesn't look like he did it on purpose," she said. "He clearly doesn't do anything threatening toward the agent. He's sort of dancing with his head down, playing his drum."

Border Patrol spokesman Quinn Palmer said 16 agents positioned themselves between the fence and about 30 protesters on the U.S. side. There were about 80 protesters pressed against the Mexican side of the fence, he said.

Another 63 Border Patrol agents arrived as tensions mounted, bringing the total force to 79, he said.

Agents saw demonstrators using bars to widen the hole in the fence, said Palmer. He said the agency plugs holes in the fence every morning, including Sunday.

"Even if the hole was there previously, it doesn't give you a right to create a larger hole," he said.

The clash came at the end of a week of peaceful protests, including a march through downtown El Centro.

"We had given the group a lot of latitude," Palmer said. "These people came with the intention of provoking a reaction."

No Borders Camp, which describes itself as an international group that supports free movement across borders, posted a video of the clash on its Web site. The "kissing booth" was set up for people to smack lips through tiny holes in the fence.

"The response was completely over the top and unnecessarily violent," said Oona Holcomb, a protester.

Holcomb denied any knowledge of protesters widening a hole in the border fence.

"I have no reason to believe that ever happened," she said. "I did not see it and I was right there."

www.iht.com