9 migrants who stormed El Paso border, assaulted Guard in on-camera scene charged with assault, riot

 Texas authorities have charged nine migrants for involvment in the assault on National Guard troops and storming of the border in El Paso, Texas, last Thursday a state government source told The Post.

The charges the migrants face include inciting a riot, damage of property of over $2,500 and assault on members of the Guard, the source said. 

Texas authorities first arrested Honduran national Junior Evaristo-Benitez, 21, who is now charged with assault on a public servant, a third-degree felony, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Eliot Torres.

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Migrants battle Texas National Guard soldiers at the border.James Breeden for NY Post

Evaristo-Benitez, another of the nine charged, allegedly stomped on a soldier’s knee “purposefully and with malice,” according to Border Report.

The migrants who stormed the border had torn down concertina wire used to prevent illegal entries, and made their way to the border wall.

National Guard soldiers stopped them and amassed them into smaller groups. Some became frustrated with the soldiers after they began turning them back to Mexico, at which point the stampede, caught on camera by a Post photographer, happened.

All migrants in the group were later taken into the custody by Border Patrol.

Texas authorities are continuing to reviewing the video of the incident to determine which migrants who are in Border Patrol custody to charge.

The state is expected to charge dozens of others with felony or misdemeanor charges, the source said.

Federal authorities will have to hand over the accused to the state, according to the source.

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Migrants battle Texas National Guard soldiers at the border in El Paso.James Breeden for NY Post

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Migrants battle Texas National Guard soldiers at the border in El Paso.James Breeden for NY Post

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The Texas National Guard were busy late Tuesday afternoon reinforcing the fence that was damaged during the NY Post’s viral video last week where migrants rushed at soldiers. Guardsmen were seen adding much larger new sections of fence and concertina wire in the area around Gate 36 where the Post filmed the chaotic scenes.James Breeden for NY Post

Following last Thursday’s incident, authorities confiscated knives and shanks from some of the migrants who stormed the area, according to a National Guard source. At least one migrant also tried to grab a soldier’s firearm during the tense situation.

Some of the soldiers who responded to the rush on the border Thursday received treatment at a nearby hospital for their injuries.

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Nine migrants were charged after rushing the border.James Breeden for NY Post

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The migrants who stormed the border had torn down concertina wire used to prevent illegal entries, and made their way to the border wall.James Breeden for NY Post

“These people were willing to assault military,” the source told the Post. “They were willing to assault law enforcement. They have complete disregard for our laws.”

The state has deployed more resources to the area, including 700 troops, state troopers bearing pepper ball guns and more border wire to deter illegal immigration.

Border Patrol spokesman Orlando Marrero-Rubio recently told Border Report migrants who cross the border illegally near Gate 36, where the border rush took place, could face removal from the country and a five-year entry ban.

https://nypost.com/2024/03/27/us-news/nine-migrants-charged-in-el-paso-border-rush-source/