Excerpt: "A federal judge has found four women guilty of entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit as they sought to place food and water in the Arizona desert for migrants."
No More Deaths volunteers. (photo: Matt Nager)
19 January 19
Federal judge finds activists guilty of entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit to give aid to migrants
federal judge has found four women guilty of entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit as they sought to place food and water in the Arizona desert for migrants.
US magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco�s ruling on Friday marked the first conviction against humanitarian aid volunteers in a decade.
The four found guilty of misdemeanours in the recent case were volunteers for No More Deaths, which said in a statement the group had been providing life-saving aid to migrants.
The volunteers include Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick.
Hoffman was found guilty of operating a vehicle inside Cabeza Prieta national wildlife refuge, entering the federally protected area without a permit, and leaving water jugs and cans of beans there in August 2017.
The others were found guilty of entering without a permit and leaving behind personal property.
