A militia leader reportedly told the FBI that he was training to assassinate Obama, Hillary Clinton

The leader of a militia group that arrested migrants near the US-Mexico border is reported to have told the FBI that his militia was training to assassinate former President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Democratic donor George Soros. Larry Hopkins, head of the United Constitutional Patriots, is charged with possession of a firearm and can incur up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Hopkins appeared before a federal judge on Monday.

According to prosecutors, he has been sentenced three times in Michigan and Oregon, including for pretending to be a police officer, and nine guns were seized at his home in 2017, reports Mireya. Villarreal from CBS News.

Group videos show members of the militia arresting migrants, sometimes under the threat of a gun near the border in New Mexico. The United Constitutional Patriots said they were simply doing their part to enforce US immigration laws. In 60 days, they claim to have captured about 5,600 migrants who entered the country illegally.

But for human rights activists, it is a group of gunmen armed with firearms. Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico, fears that migrants will be victims of violence and abuse not visible on video.

"These are the kind of videos you usually see on terrorist groups in the deserts of Afghanistan," Simonson said. "It hurts to see people, especially children, exposed to this type of threat."

The governor and attorney general of New Mexico denounced the militia last week, while the border patrol warned them of "interference by civilians in law enforcement affairs".

Simonson states that militia members, who often wear badges and camouflage themselves, violate laws against the abduction and imitation of federal agents. But only one was arrested, the 69-year-old group commander, Larry Hopkins, who also uses the pseudonym Johnny Horton Jr.

Hopkins' lawyer, Kelly O. Connell, said his client was not guilty of firearm charges, which have no connection with militia activities.

"When he was arrested, it seemed that it was something that was happening here." According to the charges, this would have happened in the north, "said O. Connell.

On Monday, members of the militia suffered another blow when the owner of the land where they set up camp kicked them out. They must leave the end of the week.