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LAS CRUCES, N.M. – A man from New Mexico, a member of a group of armed civilians who arrested migrants near the US-Mexico border and who was arrested on suspicion of being a criminal in possession of firearms, reportedly similar indictments 13 years ago in Oregon.
Larry Mitchell Hopkins, aged 69, was also charged with pretending to be a police officer from Klamath County, Oregon, in 2006, and allegedly claimed to be a fugitive bounty hunter, announced on Sunday. Santa Fe New Mexican.
The FBI and Sunland Park police arrested Hopkins on Saturday over a federal complaint.
Hopkins was hired in the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces and it was not immediately known if he had a lawyer who could comment on the allegations.
According to the FBI, Mr. Hopkins is from Flora Vista, a rural community in northern New Mexico, about 572 kilometers north of Sunland Park, in the suburbs of El Paso, Texas.
FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said the additional information on Hopkins would not be released before his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces.
In 2006, a report from the Klamath County Sheriff's Office indicated that Hopkins had been found at a gas station in Keno, Oregon, showing guns to young people and telling them that he was a police officer.
Hopkins was wearing a "special agent" badge and many medals pinned to his shirt, according to the report obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
The paper said the court records had been unveiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups and extremists in the United States.
In his guilty plea in the case, the records show that Hopkins acknowledged in court that he had "given the impression to others that I was an agent of peace "while he was illegally carrying a firearm as a convicted felon.
Federal authorities on Friday warned private groups to avoid controlling the border after a series of social media videos showing armed civilians arresting large groups of families from Central America in New Mexico .
Groups of armed civilians have been an integral part of the border for years, especially when a large number of migrants arrive. But unlike in the past, many migrants who are now crossing are children.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Mexican Department of Foreign Affairs expressed "deep concern over the intimidation and extortion of migrants by militias on the New Mexico border …" can lead to trampling human rights ". the rights of people who emigrate or seek asylum or refuge in the United States. "
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Information from: The New Mexican Santa Fe, http://www.santafenewmexican.com
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