An El Paso man accused of displaying a handgun in a vehicle while passing “No Kings” protesters was granted a personal recognizance bond by a magistrate judge.
Michael Edward Abeyta, 47, was arrested on Saturday, June 14, after a quick response by the El Paso Police Department as hundreds of protesters demonstrated against what they said were the dictator-like politics of President Donald Trump.
Similar coordinated “No Kings” protests took place in more than 2,100 cities and towns across the nation, including in nearby Las Cruces.
Abeyta faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon, a Class A misdemeanor. He had been held on a $2,000 bond at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown since his arrest.
Abeyta was to be released on Monday, June 16, after Magistrate Judge Antonio Aun granted him a personal recognizance, or PR, bond requiring no money, at a teleconference bond hearing that morning. As part of the terms of release, the judge prohibited Abeyta from possessing any weapons, firearms or ammunition while awaiting trial.
“Yes, sir. I’m done with guns,” Abeyta responded, before Aun cautioned him not to say anything that could be considered an admission that could be used in court.
Police spokeswoman Detective Judy Oviedo said that the gun incident was the only arrest in what was otherwise a peaceful “No Kings” demonstration on a more-than-100-degree day in El Paso.
Man with gun arrested at ‘No Kings’ protest in El Paso
Protesters waved signs at Edgemere Linear Park and along the sidewalks of Edgemere and Airway boulevards in East-Central El Paso. There was a police presence at the demonstration as a safety measure, stated a police news release issued by Sgt. Javier Sambrano.
About 12:40 p.m., a police officer advised over the radio that an unknown man, later identified as the Abeyta, had a weapon inside a black Kia car traveling through the protest, Assistant District Attorney Jessica Lamberth said at the hearing.
A protester had reported that the man was in the passenger seat of the car with an unholstered gun on top of the dashboard in plain view, Lamberth said.
Abeyta allegedly admitted placing the gun on the dashboard after officers on bicycles stopped the car and found the gun on the floorboard, Lamberth said.
“I know he thinks that somebody had kicked his car or done something to his car,” Judge Aun commented, while questioning if pulling out a gun was the right thing to do.
A social media video showed Abeyta wearing an orange T-shirt and camouflage shorts while being arrested. Jail records indicate that he was also booked on seven traffic warrants, which were later deemed “time served.”
Abeyta stated at the hearing that he resides on the East Side and is a lifelong El Pasoan, a legal permanent resident who was adopted from Mexico as a baby.
More than five million people across the nation are estimated to have participated in the largely peaceful protests, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, a coalition partner that organized the demonstrations, as reported by USA Today.
The protests devolved into violence in some cities. Baton-wielding police clashed with protesters in downtown Los Angeles. A man intentionally drove an SUV into a crowd in Virginia, and a bystander was killed in a shooting in a confrontation between a man with a rifle and a peace-keeping team at a protest in Salt Lake City.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: ‘I’m done with guns.’ El Paso man arrested with gun at ‘No Kings’ protest gets PR bond
Reporting by Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
