A member of a far-right militia has been arrested and charged with witness intimidation after showing up armed with a handgun to the home of a witness connected to the June 15 Juan de Oñate statue shooting trial.
The Daily Lobo previously reported that an armed man identifying himself as a Three Percenter — a national far-right militia active in New Mexico — showed up at the home of a witness in the case against shooter and former City Council candidate Steven Baca.
34-year-old Daniel Carr has since been charged with intimidation of a witness. A criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court detailed the incident that happened last Friday.
The previous day, the witness had testified in the preliminary hearing for Baca, who is facing two counts of aggravated battery, battery and unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon for his actions at the June 15 protest, during which Baca attacked multiple women before shooting and injuring protester Scott Williams.
On Friday, the witness and his girlfriend — referred at as John and Jane Doe in the criminal complaint — were watching the rest of the hearing when Carr knocked on their door.
Jane Doe answered the door and Carr asked for her boyfriend, using his full name. When she told him he wasn’t home, Carr turned to walk away and she noticed he had a handgun holstered on his hip.
She began recording Carr, asking, “Why are you here?”
“Because you guys are destroying our city,” Carr replied. “You guys are part of antifa, correct?”
She laughed and Carr said, “All right, now we know where you live.”
When asked for his name multiple times, Carr said he was “three percent” — an apparent reference to the Three Percenters — and threatened that he was “not the last person to come to your house.”
Jane Doe explained to an investigator that she was “terrified, and her and John Doe and a minor (the couple’s elementary-aged child) immediately left the residence, fearful that the same man or others would be back soon.”
During the hearing, a witness said he was concerned about naming fellow witnesses because of fear of retaliation against them. Judge Cristina Jaramillo said that fear was “ridiculous,” according to activist and University of New Mexico professor Nick Estes who watched the hearing, which was not video recorded.
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Earlier this week, the district attorney’s office asked the public for help identifying the man. Multiple anonymous tips came in that led to Carr’s arrest.
Carr is the subject of an Albuquerque Police Department report from June 30. He was seen standing in an intersection holding a sign that read “Fuck BLM” — which he said drew too much attention so he went home and came back with an “All Lives Matter” sign and a gun — and yelling at passing drivers who disagreed with him.
“The caller told police that the male left and came back with a sidearm holstered on his hip, and on at least one occasion pulled the gun from the holster and pointed it at cars that were disagreeing with his sign,” the criminal complaint states.
When he was arrested at his home on Friday, Carr “stated he didn’t do anything wrong, but did admit to being the person who went to Jane and John Doe’s home.”
Agents found a handgun and holster inside his truck, as well as several other handguns and rifles inside the house.
Bella Davis is a senior reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @bladvs
