Four Arrested Amid Protests At Trump Rally – Associated Press
Police say four people have been charged or cited following a Donald Trump rally in Albuquerque, where angry protests erupted into chaos outside the city's convention center.
An Albuquerque police spokeswoman says 30-year-old Tylina Hardy was arrested inside the convention center as Trump spoke Tuesday night. She faces a charge of disorderly conduct. Two juveniles inside the convention center also were cited and released to their parents.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Jose Cuevas faces a charge of disorderly conduct linked to protests outside the rally.
About 4,000 Trump supporters attended the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center. As he spoke inside, a crowd of demonstrators outside overran police barricades. Some threw burning T-shirts and plastic bottles at officers.
Police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza says about 12 other people were detained and released, and more arrests are likely.
Michelle Obama Set To Speak At Native American Commencement – Associated Press
Michelle Obama plans to address 105 Native American high school graduates during a commencement speech that comes as she attempts to spotlight tribal youth in the final months of her husband's presidency.
The first lady's commencement address Thursday at the Santa Fe Indian School is part of an Obama initiative aimed at removing "barriers to success" for Native American youth, who the White House says make up the nation's "most vulnerable population."
The Santa Fe high school says its academic and cultural curriculum helps students beat the odds, and 95 percent of its 2016 graduates have immediate plans for college.
Coming a month after speaking at Jackson State University in Mississippi, Obama's Santa Fe commencement addresses will be the second of three she's giving this spring. Next, she speaks at the City College of New York campus in Harlem.
US Interior Secretary Troubled By Auction Of Sacred Items – The Associated Press
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says she's troubled by the auctioning off of objects held sacred by Native American tribes and she's calling on the French government to help find a path toward repatriating the items.
Jewell made the statement Thursday as Paris' EVE auction house prepares to put up for bid hundreds of religious items and art pieces from the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Included are a Plains war shirt made with hair from human scalps, sacred Hopi objects that resemble masks and a ceremonial shield from New Mexico's Acoma Pueblo.
Native American leaders have protested next week's planned auction and members of New Mexico's congressional delegation have voiced concerns.
Jewell has directed the Interior Department to work with tribes and other agencies to review the circumstances by which sacred objects and other important tribal patrimony are making their way into foreign markets.
New Mexico Land Boss Weighs Easement Request From Feds – The Associated Press
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is seeking rights of way for the next 35 years to repair nearly 30 miles of roads in two counties to help with operations in New Mexico's border region.
Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn has scheduled a June 2 public meeting in Lordsburg to discuss the request.
Easement fees charged by the State Land Office could total $400,000. But federal officials want the fees to be waived since it plans to repair the roads, many of which are dirt and gravel.
Dunn said Thursday he has a responsibility to generate revenue from state trust lands for the benefit of public schools and other public institutions.
Dunn surveyed several of the roads in question earlier this week and said he wants to hear from the public.
Authorities: Unruly Group Instigated Violence At Trump Rally - The Associated Press
A day after a riot erupted outside a Donald Trump rally, Albuquerque officials concluded that the mayhem had less to do with political protest than with an unruly group determined to use the event to sow disorder.
Some of the participants openly admitted that they set out to cause disruption. Many in the crowd were seen with gang tattoos and at one point chanted to Trump supporters that they controlled the streets.
Cleanup crews spent Wednesday clearing away broken glass and charred debris. The mayor and police were tallying up the damage that spread to several blocks near historic Route 66.
In Tuesday night's demonstration, some officers and police horses were injured in clashes with protesters. Demonstrators stomped on patrol cars and shattered windows with rocks.
Officials Ban Using, Growing Marijuana In Santa Fe Forest – The Associated Press
Officials have issued an order banning the use, possession or storage of marijuana in the Santa Fe National Forest, though such practices were already illegal.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Forest Supervisor Maria Garcia issued the closure order banning both medical and recreational marijuana from the 1.5 million acres of the northern New Mexico forest. Possession and use of marijuana are already illegal under federal law.
Forest spokeswoman Julie Anne Overton says the order serves both as a reminder that pot is illegal and a way for Forest Service personnel to issue misdemeanor citations to those caught with the drug instead of arresting them.
Though the order also covers growing operations, Overton says only two growing sites have been discovered on forest land since October 2014.
Libertarian Gary Johnson To Never-Trumpers: 'I'm it' – The Associated Press
He has virtually no money, no strategy to compete in battleground states and no plan to stop talking about his drug use.
Yet with the Republican Party facing the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency, Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson could be a factor in 2016. The former two-term New Mexico governor, a Republican businessman perhaps best known for his years-long push to legalize marijuana, has a sobering message for a "never-Trump" movement desperately seeking a viable alternative.
"I will be the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states," Johnson says. "I'm it."
The quirky White House hopeful may be the GOP's best, last chance to stop a New York billionaire some fear is destroying the soul of their party.
Bill Clinton Wraps Up Campaign Swing In New Mexico – Associated Press
Former President Bill Clinton has wrapped up a two-day swing in New Mexico with a low-key rally at a packed Albuquerque community center.
Clinton told the crowd Wednesday that his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, plans to address income equality and college debt and bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States.
He also made a pitch to the working class, saying he understands their frustrations and that his wife doesn't want to leave anyone behind.
Clinton's visit comes days after Democratic rival Bernie Sanders drew thousands to rallies in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and southern New Mexico.
Though Hillary Clinton hasn't campaigned in New Mexico, her team has opened offices in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Las Vegas.
New Mexico's primary election is June 7.
Republicans Defend Martinez After Trump Attacks – Albuquerque Journal
An array of high-profile Republicans came to the defense of Gov. Susana Martinez after presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump blasted her during a rally in Albuquerque Tuesday.
The Albuquerque Journal reports House Speaker Paul Ryan and former presidential candidates Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and John Kasich reiterated their support for Martinez, who is head of the Republican Governors Association.
Martinez skipped the rally and has not committed to supporting Trump. In the past she has criticized Trump’s comments on immigration.
Trump slammed Martinez over an increase in food assistance recipients and for allowing the resettlement of Syrian refugees, even though only four Syrians have been placed in New Mexico.
Democrats pounced on Trump’s comments to criticize Martinez’s record as governor.
Congressman Calls On New Mexico To Help With Water Dispute – Associated Press
New Mexico's only Republican member of Congress has joined the fight between ranchers and the federal government over access to water on national forest lands.
The U.S. Forest Service has fenced streams, springs and other watering holes to protect the habitat of an endangered mouse. The agency has defended the action, saying it has responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act.
But U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce said Wednesday the agency is blindly implementing laws without weighing the effects on livelihoods, customs and culture in rural New Mexico.
He says the federal government is trampling on private property and water rights and the state has the authority to step up.
Fifty state lawmakers also have written to New Mexico's top water manager, voicing concerns that the federal government has overstepped its authority.
Mail Thief Suspect Killed In US Marshals Task Force Shootout – Associated Press
Authorities say a suspected mail thief is dead and his wife is charged with harboring a fugitive after a gunfight with members of a U.S. Marshals task force in southeast Albuquerque.
Federal officers were looking for 31-year-old Mario Montoya after he disappeared from a halfway house on May 20.
They found him with his wife at an apartment Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities say 37-year-old Colleen Calamia then left the apartment and U.S. Marshals stopped her vehicle.
When the deputies questioned Calamia about Montoya's whereabouts, she reportedly told them that Montoya was alone in the residence.
The deputy marshals attempted to arrest Montoya and he reported fired at them and the deputies shot back.
They later entered the residence and found Montoya dead from the exchange of gunfire.
Albuquerque Board: Police Shooting Case Reviews Slowed By DA – KOAT-TV, Associated Press
Albuquerque's Civilian Police Oversight Agency says the county district attorney's office has a backlog of more than a dozen officer-involved shooting cases, forcing ACPOA to delay its own investigations.
KOAT-TV reports that it's up to District Attorney Kari Brandenburg to decide whether or not to file charges when an Albuquerque officer fires on a suspect. CPOA, however, is tasked with reviewing the cases for any police department policy violations.
When asked about the issue, Brandenburg's office sent a statement saying they are working as quickly as possible.
CPOA Executive Director Ed Harness says as many as 16 such cases are still awaiting full review, some dating back to 2013. The agency cannot review pending cases.
Harness says the backlog also keeps the pending cases hanging over officers' heads.
O'Keeffe Museum Buys Artist's Rarely Seen Lake George Work – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe has acquired a rarely seen painting created by the artist in 1926.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the museum purchased "The Barns, Lake George" from Christie's Auction House in New York City for $3.3 million.
The work has been held in private collections since 1946 and only shown publicly once in the past 50 years. It features rustic barns overlooking the shores of Lake George in New York, where the artist and her husband had a retreat.
Museum officials say the Lake George painting will fill gaps in the collection to tell a more complete story of O'Keeffe's development. Curator Carolyn Kastner says it comes as a surprise to many people that the artist painted things other than flowers.