Court issues injunction against New Mexico Civil Guard

LAS CRUCES − A New Mexico court has granted an injunction against an armed paramilitary group that drew attention to itself in 2020 for its armed presence at demonstrations against police violence and colonialist monuments around the state, claiming they were acting as a volunteer peacekeeping force.

In an order issued Oct. 17, 2nd District Judge Elaine Lujan barred the New Mexico Civil Guard from organizing or operating in public as a military unit outside the authority of New Mexico or "assuming law-enforcement functions by using or projecting the ability to use organized force at protests, demonstrations, or public gatherings." The judge also ordered the NMCG to pay court costs, including attorney's fees.

The court issued a default judgment against the group following a bizarre 10-minute deposition taken in March from NMCG founder Bryce Provance, who testified that he had destroyed records pertaining to the organization that had been sought by Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez. Provance also claimed to have burned a computer with relevant documents after pouring bleach on it.

In light of the ruling, Torrez filed a motion requesting dismissal of claims against eight individual defendants. He has also entered into consent decrees with Provance and fellow defendant Walter Rodriguez, moving to dismiss claims against them as well.

Torrez, the Democratic candidate for attorney general in the Nov. 8 elections, filed a civil complaint against the New Mexico Civil Guard in the summer of 2020.

That summer, vigils, protests and demonstrations took place statewide denouncing the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police as well as the Las Cruces death of Antonio Valenzuela after a police officer put him in a chokehold.

The New Mexico Civil Guard was one of a few far-right groups that appeared, often in uniform or camouflage gear, bearing arms at demonstrations in Las Cruces and Albuquerque. The group held training events around the state, claiming active members in several New Mexico counties. The group also speculated about running a slate of county sheriff candidates.

The NMCG was present in June 2020 when demonstrators attempted to pull down "La Jornada," a famous statue at the Albuquerque Museum depicting Don Juan de Oñate leading a group of settlers. A counterprotester named Steven Ray Baca, who was not affiliated with the NMCG, shot and wounded a man after being recorded on video assaulting protesters and being chased away. His trial on charges including aggravated battery, battery against other protesters and unlawful carrying of a weapon, remains pending.

Torrez argued that the NMCG's presence emboldened the shooter and threatened the peace and sought an injunction against the group.

In the end, Lujan ruled the injunction was warranted because Provance's deposition demonstrated "a flagrant, willful, bad faith, callous disregard of the Court's Order," and because he admitted to "willfully destroying records at a time when he had reason to know of pending or future litigation."

Provance claimed that he was unaware of the lawsuit when he destroyed the evidence in the fall of 2020. Torrez pointed to news interviews and comments in which Provance reacted to the lawsuit prior to that time to demonstrate that could not be true. Provance also sent text messages to a Las Cruces Sun-News reporter in July of that year responding to questions about the lawsuit.

Finally, the judge ruled the NMCG had not complied with a court order to retain new counsel after its defense attorney, Paul Kennedy, withdrew in May. Court rules did not permit the NMCG to represent itself and thus Lujan found the organization in default.

In a statement, Torrez called the ruling "a victory for the rule of law and a signal to anyone in this state who believes that they can establish their own private paramilitary or police unit to advance their own political agenda."

“In this tense political environment we must always remember that this is a nation of laws and — regardless of our political views — there is no room for political violence or extremism," he continued. "If we are going to remain a free and democratic society we must resist the impulse towards armed extremism that has been the ruin of so many countries around the world.”

Torrez was co-represented in the suit by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., a group that has previously used civil process to win injunctions against white supremacist and paramilitary groups involved in the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.  

'They never sued us.' Who is the New Mexico Civil Guard?

Provance initially told the Sun-News he planned to appeal, citing the court's requirement that the New Mexico Civil Guard retain counsel. In an email, Provance wrote that the NMCG named in the lawsuit "is a long since defunct group of individuals who were on (Facebook) and can't stand each other anymore."

In a subsequent phone call, Provance said he was undecided about the appeal since he may soon be dismissed from the litigation anyway.

Albuquerque attorney Elizabeth Honce represents the 501(c)(3) corporation named New Mexico Civil Guard, Inc., founded in September 2020 — after the lawsuit was filed. That organization, she said, was not affected by the court ruling.

"The corporation did not exist at the time the lawsuit was filed and was never sued," she wrote. "The corporation intervened (in the case) because the plaintiffs were trying to get a judgment against the corporation when they never sued us."

According to state records, officers of the nonprofit include NMCG members who appeared in camouflage, but without rifles, at a rally outside Las Cruces in March. The group stressed that they were there as participants and not in a peacekeeping role.

Two of the nonprofit's listed directors, John Burks and David Rice, had been named as individual defendants and were included in Torrez's motion to dismiss claims against several individuals.

One of the individual defendants, Wess Rodgers, has filed a federal complaint alleging Torrez engaged in malicious civil prosecution and abuse of process. Rodgers claims he was never a member of the NMCG but had participated in peaceful protests with them. He is also among the defendants Torrez is seeking to dismiss from the lawsuit.

Rodgers' attorney, A. Blair Dunn, accused Torrez of using the courts to serve his political ambitions.

"A default injunction because a made up nonlegal entity cannot hire a lawyer to fight you means absolutely nothing," Dunn wrote. "This is nothing more than a political stunt wasting taxpayer resources that would be better spent fighting real crime."

Defendant Craig Fitzgerald said he had not been involved with the New Mexico Civil Guard "for almost two years."

Rodriguez, who has entered into a consent decree and may soon be dismissed from the litigation, wrote to the Sun-News, "I honestly don't know what happened."

Elaborating, Rodriguez expressed confusion over his involvement, saying he had considered membership in the NMCG at one time but had decided against it based on news coverage of the group.

"I got tossed in this lawsuit with everyone," he wrote. "I hope that everybody clears outta everything."

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Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.