FBI & Department of Justice Make Jan. 6th Arrest in Kinney County
Department of Justice busy in S. Texas, also Arresting Eagle Pass Police Detective
Two news releases Tuesday night, (Dec. 14), potentially putting a bright spotlight on Kinney County and Maverick County, as the Department of Justice announces a pair of seemingly unrelated arrests.
Firstly, the Department of Justice arrested a Dallas area man named Lucas Denney somewhere “near Brackettville.” Denney is accused of taking part in the January 6th incident in Washington D.C., along with another man named Donald Hazzard.
The two men are accused of not only taking part in the incident, but also assaulting a law-enforcement officer at the Capitol.
The indictment paperwork includes what appears to be some lively and possibly alarming text messaging exchanges featuring the two men, among other things, talking about their motivations for attending, and their feelings about Antifa and Black Lives Matter.
Here is a link to the official news release. It includes some attachments down at the very bottom, which include photographs of the men at the rally, and goes a long way toward spelling out the Government’s case.
We received a phone call from one reporter, curious if Mr. Denney was associated with any militia group active in Kinney County, and if perhaps that was why he was arrested here. It is entirely possible, of course, but we have no information from the Sheriff’s Office suggesting that it is so. Also, after looking at the Federal Government’s photos, we don’t believe we have seen the man in attendance at any Commissioner’s Court meetings, which have been attended by a Dallas-area militia group active in Kinney County.
Let us assume for the moment the man *was* in Kinney County with a militia group. This is, in and of itself, not illegal. Theoretically, a group with the approval of a landowner, could operate as representatives of that landowner and lawfully detain a trespassing group of illegal aliens, until the arrival of Border Patrol, DPS, or other authorities to collect them. In practice, this activity is discouraged by the State and Federal Government. It creates some obvious legal liabilities and safety issues, but if a landowner was determined, and felt it was a worthwhile risk, it could be done.
Even so, this matter may well serve as a warning shot across the bow to any militia groups thinking to become active along the border, and any landowners thinking to accept their services— be very careful about the backgrounds of those acting on your behalf.
Clearly, the Federal Government is willing to take however long it takes to build a case in these matters.
After some further research online, we found the following report on “RawStory”.com, which appears to have connected Lucas Denney to the January 6th incident almost two weeks ago. The report also seems to detail some reckless behavior on social media by Mr. Denney in the weeks after his interview with the FBI.
It may be that the publication of this “Raw Story.com” article led to charges moving forward. It may also just be a coincidence that the man was in Kinney County. But it seems increasingly unlikely.
Meanwhile, in Eagle Pass, authorities arrested 51 year old Police Detective Hazel Eileen Diaz— accusing her of Conspiracy to Harbor Illegal Aliens.
The case dates back to the arrest of two alleged co-conspirators— a pair of 20somethings, back in August.
The investigation appears to be headed by the FBI, with the assistance of Homeland Security.
Accusations of official misconduct in border towns are sadly not uncommon— and given the circumstances and the high visibility of the Border Crisis right now, any given community can likely assume a higher than usual amount of scrutiny from Federal and State officials.
Indeed— Kinney County would seem to be a sure bet for enhanced scrutiny from various organizations. Given the border region’s reputation for petty larceny and small-time corruption in local governments, the fact that Kinney County has access to more than 3-Million dollars in Operation Lone Star Funding, all but guarantees that any expenditures of that money will be closely watched.
In fact, one might argue that it would be the height of irresponsibility for the State not to ride Kinney County hard about where the money’s going, who’s accessing it, and how it is being accessed.
To that end, we can tell readers and subscribers that the grant is not just sitting in a bank account, waiting for clever, larcenous administrators to figure out how to steal it. Instead, county officials must make whatever expenditures they plan to make, and then turn around and submit to the state for reimbursement.
It seems like a fairly reasonable means of preventing a rural County from losing its collective mind like a drunken sailor fresh into some far-eastern port, with too much money and too much liberty and a whole constellation of crafty figures dying to help spend it on whiskey, King Cobra fights, and “nighttime company.”
That’s all for now. As always, the opinions and any errors presented in this newsletter are ours alone, and should not be considered indicative of Kinney County policy. For the sake of transparency, we should once more mention our employment with the Kinney County Sheriff’s Office as an Administrative Assistant for Co-Ordinating Public Information and Press Inquiries.