Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have arrested and charged a former city council candidate with aggravated assault in connection with the Monday shooting of a man who was trying to topple a statue of a Spanish conquistador.
Stephen Baca, a candidate for the Albuquerque City Council in 2019, allegedly shot a protester in the back after a fight broke out between demonstrators and a group of armed militia members who were counter-protesting, New Mexico public broadcaster KUNM reported.
The Monday protest saw people attempting to topple the statue of Juan de Oñate, who ordered the massacre of about 500 Acoma Pueblo Native Americans.
A militiaman with a gun trying to stop one of the protesters from bringing down the statue, which led to a fight. Baca allegedly threw a woman on the ground and sprinted away from the area. He was then hit by a skateboard, which provoked him to pepper spray another woman. Baca fired several rounds before finally being tackled, KUNM reported.
Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said police cannot prohibit armed militia groups from attending the protests until they commit a crime. The same groups have been seen at other protests. One group, the American Patriots of New Mexico, said they have frequently coordinated with police for events, according to KUNM.
Police officials said the collaboration with militia groups was not sanctioned by the department.
"We've monitored them, we've talked to them," Gallegos said. "We've tried to figure out, you know – but when they're out there with weapons, unless they're committing an assault, what are we supposed to do?"
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said in a statement:
"Although we are still learning more about the situation, I am horrified and disgusted beyond words by the reports of violence at a protest Monday night in Albuquerque. 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.
"I am monitoring the situation; my administration is in touch with local officials; the individual who was injured is in my prayers, and I am thinking of their family and friends."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.