A couple hundred folks gathered at a rural ranch just outside of Eagle Pass, Texas, with the aim of “taking our border back.” Instead, they found no invasion of migrants, so they terrorized the small Texas town instead.
While Texas Governor Greg Abbott told the press Sunday that resident of Eagle Pass were angry that migrants had taken over “their neighborhoods, their golf courses, their shopping areas,” actual residents told the San Antonio Current the real problem: the couple hundred right-wing conspiracy theorist and grifters who invaded the unincorporated community of 30,000:
On Friday, authorities evacuated Eagle Pass’ Firefly migrant processing center after anonymous threats to burn it down, U.S Rep-Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, told reporters during a Sunday press call.
What’s more, one member of the convoy was arrested Saturday in Eagle Pass, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said on the same call. The man’s identity and charges remain unclear, but the congressman said he had an “extensive criminal record.”
At least three militia members armed with long guns also stalked the streets of downtown Eagle Pass ahead of Abbott’s press conference, according to Cuellar.
“I’ve always felt very safe here, so I would say it’s a good place to raise your children,” one Eagle Pass resident said during a weekend press conference organized by city faith leaders and the progressive group Vote Common Good. “Today, downtown, was the first day that I felt unsafe just walking down the street in broad daylight.”
Pretty cool for a group referring to itself as “God’s Army.” Another resident told WOAI NBC News Channel 4:
“We are constantly being told that we’re being invaded, and that never felt true until today, when the convoy came to town in anticipation of the Governors’ event,” said Jessie F. Fuentes, an Eagle Pass native and community advocate. “This is political theater by outsiders. The reality is that it has brought dangerous, violent groups into our beautiful, peaceful city. Eagle Pass is safer than most cities in America if you look at crime statistics. This is just a fact. We don’t appreciate these staged events that dramatically misrepresent our reality on the border and that invite extremist groups that pose a real danger to people in our community.”
To add insult to injury, Border Convoy members were also a little disappointed that Eagle Pass did not turn out to be the chaotic situation so many hoped to profit from:
WOAI reports police have been called out to address multiple issues with the convoy. Streams show fights breaking out between convoy members, which is mostly made up of retirees. Originally, the convoy promised 700,000 members, which was adjusted down to 400,000. The group fell far short of this goal, with estimates of attendees by media on the ground ranging in the low hundreds. This convoy has been three weeks in the making, and include some of the organizers of that famously effective convoy, the People’s Convoy, which attempted to shut down Washington D.C.