Nothing Like a Juan de Oñate Statue To Get People Agitated

Trouble at 20th & Mountain, in Albuquerque this evening. People chopped the foot off another statue in northern New Mexico a few years back. I like this statue in Old Town due to its historical references to the Conquistador past, and Hispanics in general see it as a positive, but Native Americans hate it, with good cause. Not quite in the same category with Confederate statues, but close enough:

Dramatic video posted to social media on Monday evening documents the aftermath of a shooting at a protest in Albuquerque.

“A man was shot during a protest at Tiguex Park Monday evening. The protest was for the removal of a Juan de Oñate statue, ‘La Jornada’, outside the Albuquerque Museum,” KOB-4 reports. “Moments before protesters were about to remove the statue with a chain, shots were fired into the crowd.”

...Militia gathering at Oñate statue in Albuquerque ahead of protest. Incredibly menacing & intimidating. They say they’re with a group called “New Mexico Civil Guard”

Members of the NM Civil Guard detained by police. pic.twitter.com/x1K4wRb4W2

— Shaun Griswold (@shaun505) June 16, 2020