Prosecutors are claiming that Facebook deleted key evidence in a case against an extremist New Mexico militia group when it removed the group's page last year, and accuse the tech giant of refusing to retrieve needed information.
District Attorney Raúl Torrez, of Bernalillo County in New Mexico, filed a lawsuit in June 2020 to limit the online activities of the New Mexico Civil Guard, a heavily armed self-described militia. The group clashed that month with protesters rallying to remove a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate in Albuquerque.
The violence ended in gunfire and left one protester seriously injured. While the shooter wasn’t a member of the militia, Torrez claimed its members perpetuated the chaos through posts and rhetoric on social media.
The month after the protest, however, Facebook deactivated the group’s account for violating its policy, which bans hate speech and dangerous organizations. Now, the social media giant won't comply with a subpoena to produce content from the account.
Facebook deleted key evidence in a legal battle against an extremist New Mexico Civil Guard when it deleted their account, prosecutors allege. Above, members of the group are pictured being detained by police at a June 2020 demonstration in Albuquerque
District Attorney Raúl Torrez is pushing for the tech giant to turn over necessary records for a subpoena against the militia
Torrez surmised that Facebook either permanently deleted the content or simply hasn’t attempted to retrieve it yet. ‘If that’s true, I think Facebook’s gonna be hard-pressed to make an argument that they are actively engaged in policing extremist content on their website and on their platform,’ he said at a news conference Monday.
Torrez announced at the news conference that he has filed a petition with California Superior Court to pressure Facebook, where it is headquartered. He said he expects a hearing before the California judge by early 2022.
Torrez is requesting Facebook produce subscriber information of everyone who started and ran the New Mexico Civil Guard Facebook page, in addition to the tech giant’s internal communications related to removing the page.
The militia clashed with protesters who were rallying to remove a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate in Albuquerque in June 2020
Facebook deactivated the extremist group’s account the month after the protest for violating its policy against 'hate speech' and 'dangerous organizations'
Torrez said that Facebook claims it can regulate itself, ‘yet when we request basic information about who owned this account or who opened this
