Guest of NM state rep suffers eye injury during Occupy protest in Santa Fe UPDATE: Video of the incident posted
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Occupy protesters came under fire at the Roundhouse on Thursday (Jan. 26) after a handful of them burst into a dinner for state legislators at the Eldorado Hotel on Wednesday night, shouting political slogans, trying to rope off the diners with crime scene tape and throwing protest material that ended up hitting the female guest of state Rep. Bill Rehm (R-Albuquerque) in the eye, possibly causing some damage.
The protesters were angry that a number of New Mexico lawmakers — some Democrats but mostly Republicans — were taking part in the dinner, which was hosted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization that calls for smaller government but is targeted by many on the left as a tool of corporate America.
Rep. Bill Rehm (R-Albuquerque)
Witnesses say the woman throwing the card was “in her late 20s, a slender, white female” and was hustled out of the room by Rep. Dennis Kintigh (R-Roswell), who is a former FBI agent.
Update: There’s some video of the incident on YouTube. (Hat tip to Steve Terrell.) The photographer got there a bit late but you can see a little bit of what happenend, including a woman being hustled away saying, “ALEC killed indigenous people!” Here it is:
Rep. Terry McMillan (R-Las Cruces) who is also a doctor, tended to the injured guest, who may have injured her cornea. A spokeswoman for the state Republican Party who spoke to Rehm Thursday morning said doctors are “monitoring it [the injured eye], it’s under observation, things seem to be going in the right direction.”
Rehm did not talk to reporters Thursday but one of his House colleagues said “he’s understandably upset” and Capitol Report New Mexico learned that Rehm is expected to say something about the incident from the House floor on Friday.
Santa Fe Police were notified of the incident and a criminal complaint was reportedly filed. Once we get access to the incident report, we’ll post it.
“To some parts of this society,” Kintigh said Thursday morning, “the right to peaceably assemble is only for a certain political philosophy and not for others … I think that is fundamentally wrong.”
Capitol Report New Mexico talked to one of the attendees at the dinner, Rep. Paul Bandy (R-Aztec), who expresssed his concerns about the rhetoric and political environment in Santa Fe during this 30-day session:
Prior to the dinner, members of the Occupy Santa Fe Movement had distributed a notice on the Internet, encouraging protesters to come to the Eldorado, saying that “Twenty-three NM legislators are active members of ALEC and promote and introduce ALEC’s reactionary and racist legislation.”
Nine days ago, Occupy protesters briefly interrupted the State of the State address by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
On the floor of the House Thursday morning, Rep. Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), who took part in an “Occupy the Roundhouse” demonstration in front of the Roundhouse on Jan. 17, said the incident at the Eldorado is not representative of the Occupy movement. “This is not acceptable … we can disagree without being disagreeable … I had nothing to do with that [incident] but I think it’s appropriate to say this … let’s maintain the decorum of the House.”
But Sen. Bill Payne (R-Albuquerque) was much more agitated on the floor of the Senate, describing the incident as “a very ugly scene,” that ALEC “has been created as a foil for the Occupy people” and then said “there needs to be some prosecution of some of these people [protesters].”
Payne then criticized the management at the Eldorado and the city of Santa Fe in general, saying on the floor he would “recommend everyone not to patronize this hotel because they absolutely failed in their security … What concerns me the most is … I think we ought to look at an alternative venue [for meetings] because Santa Fe has come so anti-business.”
“The people who came into that restaurant … were interested in doing harm,” Sen. Clint Harden (R-Clovis) said, adding that the protesters “looked like they were throwing karate stars — and I don’t say that frivolously.”
Democratic President Pro Tem of the Senate Tim Jennings of Roswell seconded Payne’s comments, saying “ALEC is a very viable part of the American business society … We will get to the bottom of this to the best of our ability … Sen. Payne, you have my unending support.”
On Monday (Jan. 23), the Santa Fe New Mexican ran a front-page story about ALEC, quoting Egolf as saying, “ALEC is the truest embodiment of all the things that people who care about keeping corporate money out of politics, preserving our democracy and keeping our air, land and water clean fear most” and quoted Payne saying “there’s nothing nefarious about” ALEC and Bandy saying the organization is “basically about Jeffersonian democracy, individual rights, free markets and limited government.”
Bandy actually spoke to some of the protesters who gathered outside the Eldorado before the dinner and said he thought he had a good exchange with the demonstrators.
But the exchange a little while later was a lot less civilized.
Update: From Steve Terrell of the Santa Fe New Mexican:
Jeff Haas, a spokesman for the protesters, said in an email to The New Mexican, “While Occupy believes that confrontation and civil disobedience are often effective as demonstrated by Dr. King and Rosa Parks, we regret that anyone was injured last night by either flying paper or rough treatment by hotel security or ALEC members. Fortunately the injuries were minor compared to the devastation to people and the environment caused by ALEC legislation.”
Posted under Capitol Report.
Tags: ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Bill Payne, Bill Rehm, Brian Egolf, Clint Harden, Dennis Kintigh, Eldorado Hotel, Occupy movement, Occupy Santa Fe, Paul Bandy, Santa Fe New Mexican, State of the State address, Terry McMillan, Tim Jennings
11:00 am on January 27th, 2012
Too bad there weren’t more like Kintigh who had the training to act and remove all of those criminals. Now, the injured woman needs to file criminal charges and a civil suit to impoverish the criminals. They committed a hate crime. They need to suffer the consequences. The venue needs to be changed to a proper one, out of Sani-flush and into one where justice will be served. It is quite evident to me that Sani-flush is complicit in these acts of criminality; allowing the destruction of public property (read: allow YOUR tax money to be wasted by the occupy criminals and wasted again to reclaim the wastelands they destroy). Perhaps the state capitol needs to be moved out of sani-flush and onto an open, fenced-in area miles from every community, with no rights to develop housing anywhere near the new capitol, to prevent the creation of another parasite-city like sani-flush ever again.
12:54 pm on January 27th, 2012
The protestors definitely crossed the line. But I have to say I nearly peed myself laughing at gadfly Senator Hardin when he said, the protesters “looked like they were throwing karate stars — and I don’t say that frivolously.”
The El Dorado Hotel security failed on this one, but Kintigh gave them the bums rush.
2:06 pm on January 27th, 2012
A ridiculous story with an inaccurate headline. A 5×8 card was alleged to have struck a woman in the eye. She is not known to have sustained even trivial injury. The article itself states that she “may” have sustained some sort of eye damage, which clearly implies that she just as possibly may not have. Which means that the headline is false, misleading, yellow journalism.
I challenge anybody who takes this joke article seriously to throw a 5×8 index card at a target more than three feet away and assess for themselves whether it is possible achieve either the force or the accuracy to do deliberate injury to anyone. This was, at the absolute worst, unintentional and accidental.
Meanwhile, hotel security and others reacting to the Occupy demonstrators threw an elderly lady to the ground and punched a man in the face. These acts were neither unintentional nor accidental. Odd that mention of this overt and intentional violence was omitted in favor of histronic hand-wringing over the injury that may not have happened.
3:08 pm on January 27th, 2012
A good reason to carry a telescoping baton as a defensive weapon under your pantleg or anti-rapist pepper spray in your purse.
http://www.defensedevices.com/aspbaton16inch.html
12:16 am on January 28th, 2012
When you get the details of the criminal complaint, I believe you will find that it was filed by a woman who was assaulted by ALEC, rather than the other way round. While it is of course deeply regrettable that anyone was hurt, including the woman who was poked in the eye by a program, the only violence perpetuated on Wednesday night was that perpetuated by ALEC in strangling, punching, and manhandling protestors, and the attempted theft of a camera.
3:52 am on January 28th, 2012
Occupy Santa Fe and ProgressNow New Mexico Release Statements Regarding ALEC Violence
Occupy Santa Fe Statement Regarding ALEC Violence
Released on January 27, 2012 by OccupySantaFe
Approved by Occupy Santa Fe Media Working Group and ALEC Protest Organizers
Wednesday night, Jan.25th at the Eldorado Hotel, Santa Fe the worst of corporate corruption of our democracy reared its ugly head at a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This innocent-sounding group drafts, recommends and promotes “Model Legislation” to conservative legislators. Funded by Koch Industries and over 300 corporations, ALEC authors legislation destructive to the working class and environment and which displaces native peoples and contaminates their air, soil, and water.
The Nation reported that ”Hundreds of ALEC’s model bills and resolutions bear traces of Koch DNA: …Of all the Koch’s’ investments in right-wing organizations, ALEC provides some of the best returns:” Those returns are crushing unions, lowering wages for working Americans, wiping out clean water and air regulations, and exploding profits for the already rich. ALEC is the force behind the disastrous Wisconsin and Ohio Union Busting. ALEC presents “Model Bills” and encourages conservative legislators to present them for approval to legislatures.
Occupy Santa Fe protested outside the Eldorado Hotel exposing this reprehensible organization. A very large banner was dropped from a 5th floor balcony of the El Dorado, which read: “ALEC Buys NM Legislators. ALECEXPOSED.ORG 99% Expect Us.”. OSF understands the continuing corruption of our democracy is a matter of sheer survival with 146 million Americans at or below the poverty line. A noisy interruption of the ALEC $250 dinner is mild compared to the economic, social, and environmental devastation caused by corporate domination. The global Occupy Movement is loud but has been peaceful from day one and remains so today.
Four women and two men committed to nonviolent civil disobedience interrupted the dinner to hold members accountable for their anti-immigrant, anti-union and anti-environment policies, while Crime Scene tape was dispersed around the tables. Protesters sought to distribute paper programs parodying ALEC’s agenda. When one protester was attacked, some programs unintentionally flew from the protester’s hand. The resulting injury was unfortunate, and totally unintended. OSF is glad to hear the victim is recovering. By contrast ALEC members choked two women protesters with their own scarves while simultaneously punching them in the back, one by Representative Kintigh of Roswell. Following them to the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, an ALEC member punched a male protester in the face, and shoved another male protester to the wall in a chokehold. Four security guards from the Eldorado Hotel contained the violent ALEC legislative member. A 68-year-old photographer filed a complaint that night after she was manhandled and injured in an effort to take her camera. ALEC members are attempting to cover up their violent response to the protesters in the Eldorado, deflecting responsibility on protesters, hotel security, and State Police. This is a continuation of ALEC’s political maneuvering, one of corruption, dominance, and deceit.
ALEC defines itself as a proponent of “Jeffersonian democracy and small government,” but in reality passes state laws to prosecute immigrants, seeks lower taxes on fruit-flavored cigarettes to entice teenage smokers and most recently ALEC sponsored laws in Texas and Louisiana requiring public schools to teach “climate change denial” as a credible theory. We don’t think Jefferson would have been bought by the private prison industry, the tobacco lobby, and the coal company polluter. In fact Jefferson warned against the tyranny of large banks.
The aggressive physical response of ALEC members is characteristic of their policies.
Contact:
Media Working Group of Occupy Santa Fe
press@occupysantafenm.org
==========================================
ProgressNow NM Statement on ALEC Violence
… We think it’s important to note that, contrary to what some reports relayed, the dinner was not held in a private dining room that was then violently ransacked by Occupy protesters. The corporate-funded dinner was held in an open dining room of the Old House restaurant that is connected to the Agave Lounge. We observed the 6 protesters enjoying a peaceful meal in the Lounge for about 45 minutes while the lobbying dinner took place.
When the protesters were finished with their meal they walked into the adjoining dinner space and began a “mic-check” before being immediately (and violently) removed by hotel security. One protester was heard yelling “Get a soul!” as he was aggressively pushed out the front entrance. Photographer Lisa Law, who we observed sitting peacefully in the lounge the entire night and who was not a part of the protester’s interruption, was inexplicably “roughed up by hotel security and ALEC members who sought to grab her camera,” according to Occupy spokesperson James Haas. We, too, saw Ms. Law removed from the Lounge for no apparent reason.
On Thursday, Rep. Bill Payne mischaracterized the brief disruption as “very ugly” and called for the protestors be prosecuted merely for exercising their First Amendment rights as United States citizens. Sen. Clint Harden also made a wild leap of imagination when he said that the protestors “were interested in doing harm.” The only harm the protesters wished to inflict was upon the intimate and inappropriate relationship between our public officials and their corporate backers. (Both of the above quotes can be found in this account.)
… When the amount of money you have and wield determines how much free speech you’re granted under the law, it comes as no surprise that those people (the 99%) who have the least must resort to colorful displays in order to have their voices heard.
ProgressNow New Mexico is in possession of audio and video recordings of the ALEC dinner and Occupy protest. We are in the process of identifying the lobbyists and legislators who were present at the event and we will be looking into their finance reports to see just how deep the ALEC lobbyist-legislator relationship goes. In the coming weeks, look for an in-depth report about ALEC’s involvement in New Mexico politics from us here at ProgressNow New Mexico.
1:11 pm on January 31st, 2012
Occupy exposes all the rats nests of corruption!