Jim Benvie, Former Militia Spokesman, Violated Conditions of Bond
Former United Constitutional Patriots (UCP)聽militia spokesman James (Jim) Christopher Benvie has violated the terms of his bond as he awaits trial in New Mexico.
Benvie was arrested June 21 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, after a warrant was issued by the U.S. District Court of New Mexico. Benvie was indicted on two counts of impersonating a U.S. border patrol officer while a member of UCP after an online video surfaced of him yelling orders to migrants saying: 鈥淎lto! U.S. Border Patrol, what are you guys doing? You guys from Guatemala?鈥�
Benvie posted bond June 25 and was released in New Mexico on the condition that he avoid contact, directly or indirectly, with anyone 鈥渨ho is or may be a victim or witness in the investigation or prosecution.鈥� The conditions for Benvie鈥檚 release explicitly mention avoiding contact with members of the extremist group United Constitutional Patriots and Guardian Patriots, an offshoot he founded.
Since his release, Hatewatch has learned that Benvie has had contact with at least one individual with former ties to United Constitutional Patriots and a second individual with ties to Guardian Patriots.
The downfall of UCP
UCP first received a flurry of attention in April, when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for an investigation into the 鈥渦nlawful arrests鈥� of migrants at the New Mexico border. UCP members reportedly detained more than 聽near the border while donning firearms and fake badges. The leader, Larry Mitchell Hopkins (aka Johnny Horton Jr.), regularly posted videos to social media where members could be seen questioning migrants on the outskirts of Sunland Park, New Mexico.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty clear from watching those videos that the folks that make up this group view immigrants as something less than human beings,鈥� said Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU of New Mexico.
On April 20, Hopkins was arrested by the FBI for allegedly being a felon in possession of a firearm. Shortly thereafter, UCP faced another setback when 聽that UCP member Steve Brant, code-named 鈥淰iper,鈥� filed an April 24 police report with the Sunland Park Police Department about fellow member Armando Gonzalez having allegedly made 鈥渢erroristic threats.鈥� According to Brant, Gonzalez openly expressed his desire to shoot migrants and to 鈥済o back to Hitler days and put them all in gas chambers.鈥�
After media backlash caused a dip in organization membership, Benvie decided to distance himself from UCP and start his own organization, Guardian Patriots. United Constitutional Patriots subsequently lost about half its members, with many deciding to join Guardian Patriots.
Benvie contacts Guardian Patriot YouTuber
On Nov. 13, Benvie, who currently resides in halfway house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, called into a rightwing YouTube channel run by fellow Guardian Patriot member Lawra Sharpe-Ulvog. Benvie proceeded to take part in a 90-minute interview that concluded with him saying he planned to set up another Facebook page with help from Sharpe-Ulvog. In the last few minutes of the video, Benvie can be heard telling Sharpe-Ulvog, 鈥淚鈥檒l keep you updated.鈥� Sharpe-Ulvog ends the video by telling her viewers that she knows where Benvie is located and can easily get him on the line again.
Sharpe-Ulvog got her start with UCP but switched to Guardian Patriots following Benvie鈥檚 departure from the former group. Like Hopkins and Benvie, Sharpe-Ulvog frequently dabbles in far-right conspiracy theories surrounding the U.S. border and the issue of immigration. Sharpe-Ulvog鈥檚 primary function within Guardian Patriots has been that of an online mouthpiece. She describes her role as one that utilizes her YouTube channel, Atomic News, to push out UCP鈥檚 message of a 鈥渃risis鈥� at the U.S.-Mexico border.
In a video titled 鈥淟ivestream Border Update 鈥� AOC Is Going To The Texas Border,鈥� Sharpe-Ulvog argued that undocumented immigrants should not be allowed to obtain work permits and by extension driver鈥檚 licenses: 鈥淵ou know, there鈥檚 that big conspiracy theory, and there鈥檚 always some truth to every conspiracy theory. 鈥� Why would they need an i.d.? To register to vote! That鈥檚 the real answer you guys, that鈥檚 the real answer!鈥�
In Sharpe-Ulvog鈥檚 case, the rhetoric her fellow Guardian Patriot members spewed even prompted her to go on online rants about how unwelcoming she wanted be toward migrants awaiting their court dates in the U.S. When talking about 鈥渃atch and release,鈥� a practice where low-risk undocumented individuals are released from immigration detention facilities as they await their trials, Sharpe-Ulvog told her followers on YouTube: 鈥淚t鈥檚 happening all over the country, ok. It鈥檚 a secret because they don鈥檛 want the migrants to be intimidated by us Americans. [Sharpe-Ulvog proceeded to throw up the middle finger.] That鈥檚 what I have to say about that, ok. F---聽that! Ok. They don鈥檛 want people to protest, they don鈥檛 want the migrants to feel unsafe. B----, you鈥檙e in MY country! You鈥檙e in MY state!鈥�
Sharpe-Ulvog isn鈥檛 the only UCP member Benvie has contacted in recent months. Benvie violated his bond terms a second time in November, when he initiated contact with Pedro Antonio Aguero (aka Conservative Anthony) on Facebook. Aguero is a self-proclaimed citizen journalist who runs Border Network News (BNN), an online platform that claims to focus on border-related stories.
Aguero first became acquainted with UCP during the group鈥檚 early border patrols in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Evidence of Aguero鈥檚 stint with the group can be seen in a YouTube video titled 鈥淐onservative Anthony 鈥� Guatemala Migrants 鈥� Watch Him Chase Them Through The Desert Yesterday.鈥� The video uploaded April 18 shows Aguero and members of UCP chasing migrants in the dead of night. Once border patrol arrived on the scene, Aguero used the opportunity to film the apprehended individuals while telling his audience, 鈥淎ll of you watching, ya鈥檒l just became baby daddy to all these motherf------聽right here.鈥�
Aguero, a naturalized citizen, bills himself as being vehemently opposed to illegal immigration, yet frequently makes disparaging remarks about migrants who are legally allowed to request asylum at ports of entry. His decision to vilify all migrants goes beyond just insinuating that they all live off government assistance. In at least two separate instances Aguero has compared migrants down at the border to pests, saying, 鈥淭hey come out like roaches, out of everywhere.鈥�
Aguero gave an interview to Spanish news network Univision in April, identifying himself as a spokesman for the group.
Benvie initiated contact with Aguero on Facebook after Benvie shared a public post asking his followers to donate to the We Build The Wall foundation. In a screenshot captured by Hatewatch, it appears Aguero commented on the post saying, 鈥淟et鈥檚 have an interview,鈥� to which Benvie replied: 鈥淎nthony Aguero look in your messenger my info is there! Let鈥檚 do it!鈥� On Dec. 6, Aguero鈥檚 associate at BNN, Oscar Ramirez (aka Oscar El Blue), uploaded an hourlong interview with Benvie on his YouTube channel.
Aguero, a registered Republican, is currently running against U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar in Texas鈥檚 16th District. Since announcing his campaign, Benvie has openly encouraged his Facebook followers to support Aguero.
Views espoused by groups such as UCP and Guardian Patriots fall in line with much of what the Trump Administration has been parroting over the last few years in regard to immigrants. These vigilante organizations were formed around the premise that an 鈥渋nvasion鈥� was taking place and citizens were needed down at the border to curb the number of migrants coming into the country.
In a video uploaded online last March, UCP members can be seen staking out migrants while one member turns to the camera and says, 鈥淭rump if you鈥檙e watching, this is what we鈥檙e doing for you.鈥�
When asked if he thought Trump鈥檚 rhetoric might have emboldened UCP to engage in vigilante activity, Simonson said, 鈥淚 think it speaks to the point that this administration has created a cultural environment in our country that empowers, that fuels the ambitions of some pretty misguided individuals to exercise their racist beliefs in these kinds of ways and do it in such extreme form.鈥�
Benvie鈥檚 trial is scheduled for March 2. In recent weeks, he has taken to his Facebook page to spread conspiracies about the upcoming trial, frequently making reference to what he calls the 鈥渙pen border mafia,鈥� a supposed underground network of prominent liberals including New Mexico ACLU director Peter Simonson, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Congresswoman Deb Haaland. D-N.M., and a few others he accuses of working together to misrepresent him and his group鈥檚 activities at the border.
When asked about this supposed 鈥渙pen border mafia,鈥� Simonson told Hatewatch:
What possible kind of possible personal benefit do I or the people in my organization derive from insisting that immigrants are treated with dignity and basic humanity? You know, we don鈥檛 gain anything from personally advocating that stance, it's strictly motivated by our commitment to seeing everybody treated with the same degree of justice and fairness that we would accord anyone else in our country.
On Feb. 10, attorney John C. Anderson submitted a motion in U.S. District Court of New Mexico on behalf of the United States, arguing to 鈥減reclude the defendant, James Benvie, from testifying,鈥� citing Benvie鈥檚 grossly inaccurate theories about the Department of Justice鈥檚 Policies in regard to charges for impersonating a federal agent.
Photo by Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images)
