Thread by @HamptonStall

Daily Mail ran a story yesterday about a 'border militia' forcing the surrender of 300 asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, that I wanted to provide a few comments on:
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6…

I wrote on this militia, the "United Constitutional Patriots" on @MilitiaWatch. I'm drawing a couple bits from there, but adding as well (I think it's a good place to start for learning more about them regardless) : medium.com/militiawatch/m…

The DM article discusses the armed group stopping around 300 asylum-seekers, an action they have been increasingly engaged in for a few months now. Here are some shots from March included in my piece of this exact threatening act:
medium.com/militiawatch/m…

The group is pretty wild, largely not originating from NM as the DM article assumes (though there have been recruits from a local chapter that have joined more touristic militia members). UCP is led by a guy using a stage name and claiming a fake identity:

I don't usually post FB links (even public ones), but sharing this one because the group is clearly escalating and needs further scrutiny. Here's a very long livestream from Monday by an associate of the UCP militia:
facebook.com/debbie.collins…

DM article mentions Jim Benvie as the cameraman for the event they discuss, & this is true. He's always posting dozens of these videos from his perspective, standing over terrified asylum seekers and migrants, while comments say lots of right-wing BS:
facebook.com/jim.benvie.3/v…

The UCP and associated groups almost always follow the same process:

1. Wait at border heavily armed at an area known to be used for border crossings
2. "Apprehend" those crossing, often with rifles across chest and some with masks
3. Call border patrol and wait for them to come

For my MW piece I listened to a ton of UCP's public radio show, which is just a few people on a discord chat discussing things and reacting to negative press/ongoing militia feuds they're embroiled in/etc. During some broadcasts, speakers would jump into action to stop a crossing

It's therefore important to note that the area these militia people are "patrolling" is fairly small, it's pretty much just sight range from a camp they've set up:

https://twitter.com/HamptonStall/status/1118969089131732992

Debbie Collins Farnsworth, whose livestream I posted first, has often appeared in the orbit of UCP, but she appears to have gotten more involved with some of their direct stuff recently. I wonder how widespread this is, but I wouldn't put too much to it.

https://twitter.com/HamptonStall/status/1118967367638319110

Debbie has been involved in militant stuff on the border for quite a while. Sometimes she was posting videos of people shooting guns somewhere on the border, other times livestreaming from protests at the border where they hoist assorted flags.

Debbie's husband, Kip Farnsworth, was in the header image for the @MilitiaWatch article on some of the border militias in this space, representing some of the more 'local' border militia happenings that UCP was often interfacing with.
medium.com/militiawatch/m…

I think one of the things that is often misrepresented about these militias, though, is how much they often hate one another. UCP has been embroiled in major beef with other 'tourist' militia movements and local groups, too. The MW piece covers this:
medium.com/militiawatch/m…