New Mexico Armed Border Group Barred From Facebook Fund-Raising
Facebook Inc on Thursday barred a New Mexico-based paramilitary group that has stopped undocumented migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border from using its fundraising tools and said it would remove any of its posts that violated company policies.
Facebook made the statement after a civil rights organization asked it to block videos posted by the United Constitutional Patriots (UCP), saying the clips violated its standards, which prohibit images showing criminal acts.
“People cannot use our fundraising tools for activities involving weapons,” said a Facebook spokesperson in a statement.
“We will remove fundraisers this group may try to start on our service and any content that violates our Community Standards.”
Since February, the UCP have posted a string of videos showing members armed with semi-automatic rifles halting migrants in New Mexico and telling them to sit and wait for U.S. Border Patrol to arrest them.
PayPal and GoFundMe on Friday barred the UCP, citing policies that prohibit the promotion of hate or violence.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham last week called for an investigation of the group.
The FBI arrested the UCP’s commander, Larry Hopkins, on Saturday on federal weapons charges dating back to 2017.
