Frontlines TPUSA: Border Patrol shuts down 'autonomous zone' along Arizona border wall, makes mass arrests

For over two months, a group of dozens of far-left agitators has been preventing the construction of a stretch of border wall in Arizona, using the excuse that they have to protect an old "grandmother" cottonwood tree from getting torn down. After several agitators who were camping out on private property were arrested this past week, federal authorities were able to excavate the tree. 

Turning Point USA's Frontlines reported, "What began as an environmental protest on the Arizona border became a project for a network of self-described 'aspiring revolutionaries.' After contractors cut down three cottonwood trees, anarchists and activists flooded into the zone. They published a plan to stop the wall, raised nearly $75,000, and called on people across the country to move to Lochiel with 'open-ended plans.'"

The group developed a so-called "mutual aid" network and had activists camping out, preventing construction vehicles from moving forward, brought in vehicles of their own, and impeded authorities in the construction of a double-layer border wall. On Monday, Border Patrol was moving in to raid the encampment and tear down the tree, which was documented by Frontlines. 

During the raid,  Frontlines manager Brandon Drey reported that he was also assaulted by the agitators blocking the wall. The agitators wore masks, slashed tires, and damaged property. Some of them later bragged that they had slashed the tires of the Frontlines reporters. 

When the tree was excavated, activists could be heard wailing in the background, howling at Border Patrol agents, while some of them even tried to rush past authorities to stop the excavation. 

The clash with Border Patrol agents lasted for multiple days this past week, even after the tree was torn down, per KJAZZ, Phoenix. The tree was torn down on Monday, and multiple arrests took place. That followed another confrontation on Tuesday, where five people were arrested. On Wednesday, there were still some of the autonomous zone tents and a banner that hung on barbed wire claimed that "All Walls Fall." 

After Frontlines released reporting on the incidents taking place in the "Lochiel Autonomous Zone" by the border, the Arizona Sheriff's Association called out the Santa Cruz County authorities in an open letter in response to the situation that unfolded after the activists were allowed to camp on the border for 71 days.

"Federal and state law enforcement officials have reported to our Association that the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office declined requests for assistance involving alleged violence, threats against individuals, and property damage. They have also described masked participants from outside Arizona. These allegations merit documentation and appropriate investigation," the letter added. 

"Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway has publicly described directing deputies not to respond to calls associated with the border-wall protests, except in cases involving violence. Yet law enforcement partners have reported repeated requests for assistance involving alleged violence, threats, and other criminal conduct that went unanswered," it said, calling out Hathaway directly. "These reports raise serious concerns about public safety and the fulfillment of the Sheriff’s responsibilities under Arizona law. The duty to preserve the peace and protect the public cannot be set aside simply because an incident involves federal operations or politically contentious circumstances."