The headquarters of the New Mexico Republican Party in Albuquerque was the target of vandalism and arson on Sunday.
The party said no injuries were reported after a fire burned through the building’s entryway Sunday morning. Albuquerque Fire Rescue said it was able to extinguish the fire within five minutes of its arrival.
In addition, the phrase “ICE=KKK” was spray-painted outside the building, saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was equivalent to the Ku Klux Klan.
This comes after several weeks of arson in radical protests. Among the targets are Tesla dealerships and the office of Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI). Albuquerque, in particular, is a largely Democratic district. Two congressional districts share the city and are represented by two Democrats: Reps. Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez.
ICE arrested 48 illegal immigrants in raids across Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Roswell. Twenty of those detained had active criminal charges or convictions, which resulted in 21 receiving final removal orders.
“These arrests exemplify the type of criminals living among us and highlight ICE’s commitment to our agency’s primary mission — protect public safety,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations El Paso Field Office Director Mary De Anda-Ybarra said.
“We are committed to providing every piece of evidence necessary to bring those responsible to justice and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We will not allow New Mexico’s broken criminal justice system to dilute the seriousness of this attack. The Republican Party of New Mexico will not be silenced,” Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela said. “Let us not forget: It was the Democrat Party that once supported the formation of the KKK, pushed Jim Crow laws, and defended slavery. Today, we see the same dangerous tendencies play out in new forms — attempts to suppress free speech, silence dissent, and use fear to control the political narrative.”
The Democratic Party of New Mexico also issued a statement on X, saying it “condemns the vandalism of the @NewMexicoGOP office as strongly as possible.” Both parties expressed their support for finding the culprit, which could include more than one person.
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“We firmly maintain that this sort of act has absolutely no place in our Democracy, & that peaceful discourse & organization are the only ways to approach political differences in our country,” the Democratic Party wrote.
Officials said the investigation is ongoing.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Albuquerque Police Department.