| New Mexico Civil Guard | |
|---|---|
 heraldic device of the New Mexico Civil Guard | |
| Leader |
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| Dates of operation | 2020 (2020)–2022 (2022) |
TheNew Mexico Civil Guard (NMCG) is a New Mexico-basedmilitia that was founded by Bryce Provance in 2020[1] before he left the group later that year.
The group was covered by national news media in 2020 due to an incidental shooting at a protest inAlbuquerque, New Mexico attended by militia members.
Like many groups within theAmerican militia movement, they claim to be aconstitutional group in the vein of theAmerican Revolutionary War Patriotmilitias.[2] Members arm themselves, rather than weapons being provided by the organization;AR-15–style rifles are common.
Style of dress similarly varies from member to member, usually consisting of acombat uniform orpolitical uniform in a camouflage pattern with accessories such as balaclavas. There is a t-shirt often used with an icon printed on it resembling the devices onguidons of theArmy Infantry, consisting of crossed rifles with 'NMCG' and amorion marked 'NM' at the top,III at the left, aZia symbol on the right, and a decorative element at the bottom. The Civil Guard are not a unit within any branch of the United States armed forces, however.
During a protest taking place atLa Jornada, a sculptural group depicting thesettlement of New Mexico byJuan de Oñate andothers, a man named Steven Ray Baca shot at protestors. A group of eight armed militia members at the protest were arrested and detained by law enforcement, then were released without any charges brought.[1] Representatives of the militia stated that Baca had no connection with them. Both GovernorMichelle Lujan Grisham and MayorTim Keller accused the group of trying to intimidate protesters.[3][4]
Militia members made an appearance at several additional protests during 2020.[5]
| Member of New Mexico Civil Guard announces he's running for Bernalillo County sheriff | |
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 1:37 report fromKOB about Aaron Hawking | |
 Video onYouTube |
In 2020, the New Mexico Civil Guard told theAlbuquerque Journal that they had 150 members across the state of New Mexico.[6] They ran members in local sheriffs races[7][3] including Aaron Hawking as candidate forBernalillo County Sheriff. They were seen at several events with Republican Senate and House candidates and made speeches at theNew Mexico State Capitol.
The group was sued by then-district attorney for Bernalillo CountyRaúl Torrez with assistant counsel from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection atGeorgetown University Law Center.[8] After the suit, members formed the New Mexico Civil Guard corporation.[a] TheNew Mexico Supreme Court issued asubpeona toMeta to obtain evidence, and ultimately the Civil Guard was ordered not to act in the role of law enforcement or military.[9][10][11][12] The NMCG group at the statue was ruled against but not the Corporation.
Members claimed to provide local rapid lawful response to emergency situations in the community, according to a defunct Facebook page.[13] The user image of the page was a poster fromPatriot Ordnance Factory with the text overlaid "militia is only a bad word if you're a tyrant". The page also posted that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is agood guy with a gun —NRA".[14] Bryce Provance citedBehold a Pale Horse as influential, and has referred to himself as "StandartenführerTotenkopfverbande".[15]