Local militias have a long history of assisting federal agents in protecting U.S. borders. The group United Constitutional Patriots, a New Mexican militia, came under fire after a video was posted on the group’s Facebook page of them detaining 300 illegal immigrants until the arrival of Border Control, which sparked the ire of the ACLU.

Rather than fighting for the rights of American citizens, the ACLU lodged complaints against the group that ultimately ended in the weaponization of the FBI and the arrest of a 69-year-old veteran and leader of the group on federal weapons charges.

PayPAL and GoFundMe immediately followed the attack on the militia by banning the group from its platforms, crippling the group’s ability to fund its operations.

The militia group has a long history of working to assist Border Control in New Mexico, and what the headlines failed to mention is that the video starts in the middle of the incident with U.S. Border Patrol vehicle and agents already at the scene.

Their “crime?” Other than arresting the leader on federal weapons charges, one of the militia members can be heard on video saying, “This is an invasion … and it is never, never ending,” referring to the large number of Central American migrants crossing into the United States to seek “asylum.”

Clearly, the actions of the ACLU and big tech socialists politicized the group’s activities. The militia had been working with Border Control for several months, assisting the agency with detaining illegal immigrants because Congress failed to do its job and President Trump has refused to send armed troops to the border.

Media reports suggested the FBI had been investigating the man for at least two years following threats he purportedly made against Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros.

The fact that the FBI waited until the ACLU’s complaint to arrest Larry Mitchell Hopkins, also known as Johnny Horton Jr., however does little to dispel the perception that the FBI is routinely weaponized by leftist groups. A fair accusation after the agency was used to illegally spy on the Trump campaign and ran interference for Hillary Clinton’s misuse and mishandling of her email server.

But it does appear on the surface that Hopkins is not a poster boy for the militia. FBI agents, with the assistance of the Sunland Park Police Department, arrested Hopkins on April 20 on a charge that he unlawfully had nine firearms and ammunition in his possession in his residence in San Juan County, New Mexico.

According to a criminal complaint, Hopkins is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because of at least three previous felony convictions, although Hopkins claims the firearms belong to his common law wife.

While media reports focus on the arrest of the militia’s leader, the real target are U.S. militias in general. Notwithstanding whether the charges against Larry Mitchell Hopkins are accurate, the group’s Facebook page shows the virulent hatred of left-leaning Americans who also believe that militias are hate groups.

In a letter directed to New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, ACLU attorneys wrote, “We cannot allow racist and armed vigilantes to kidnap and detain people seeking asylum.”

By falsely stating that the militia are vigilantes or racists, it is clear from the outset that the attack against the militia was politically motivated.

Governor Grisham made a statement to address the militia on Friday, April 22, 2019, stating it was “completely unacceptable that migrant families “might be menaced or threatened in any way, shape or form when they arrive at our border.”

What Grisham glosses over is the rights of American citizens to not be menaced or threatened by cartels, coyotes or armed Mexican police, notwithstanding the menace to our Republic of millions of illegal alien invaders.

In a video released by Fox News that it obtained from the U.S. government, heavily armed men are shown smuggling a migrant woman and small boy over the border. According to a report by Big League Politics, “Border Patrol officials told Fox News this is an unusual event and express concern that it will become a more regular occurrence—possibly leading to violence.” The video follows on the heels of two U.S. military men being disarmed by smugglers on U.S. soil.

In her statement, Governor Grisham also said, “It should go without saying that regular citizens have no authority to arrest or detain anyone.” But she would be wrong.

The New Mexico Militia takes its legal authority to organize itself from three documents: The United States Constitution, Amendment II; the United States Code, Title 10; and the New Mexico Code, Chapter 20. The provisions of each one of these documents not only defines the militia, its organization and its mission, but also details its historical links.

The Second Amendment reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Congress granted the authority to organize the militia to defend the Constitution. From this, it follows that the militia already in existence is generally unorganized. This implication underscores the two classes of militia as defined by statute. The U.S. Code is the collection of federal statutes that further defines the classes and capacities of the militia and exempts certain individuals from its service. Title 10, Chapter 13, Section 311 of the US Code reads:

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of Title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

(b) The classes of the militia are:
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of members of the militia who are not members of  the National Guard or Naval Militia.

Militias are not illegal and as long as Congress continues to fail to act on protecting our borders, their existence is legally justified.

Notwithstanding whether the charges against Larry Mitchell Hopkins are accurate or not, it is disheartening to see the rank and file of the FBI used to taint militias in general.

The established press would like us to believe that those militias that serve at our border are fascists, racists and extremist. Fortunately for those of us who love our country, they are working diligently to do what our own government has failed to do and that is to protect its citizens. #Reignwell