{"id":31407,"date":"2023-10-01T22:43:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T04:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/man-charged-in-shooting-at-protest-over-spanish-conquistador-statue\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:40:16","slug":"man-charged-in-shooting-at-protest-over-spanish-conquistador-statue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/man-charged-in-shooting-at-protest-over-spanish-conquistador-statue\/","title":{"rendered":"Man charged in shooting at protest over Spanish conquistador statue"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A man who identified himself to the Albuquerque Journal as Ryan Martinez, of East Mountains, pulls a gun during a rally outside the Rio Arriba County building in Espa\u00f1ola, N.M., Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. The man scrambling at lower left was not shot. (Eddie Moore\/Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Eddie Moore<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

SANTA FE \u2013 A New Mexico man was charged Friday with attempted murder in a shooting that wounded one person at a protest<\/a> over plans to install a statue of a Spanish conquistador outside government offices in the city of Espa\u00f1ola.<\/p>\n

Defendant Ryan David Martinez, from Sandia Park, was read the felony charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon at his first appearance in municipal court. No plea was entered.<\/p>\n

A temporary public defender assigned to Martinez could not be reached immediately by phone and didn\u2019t respond to voice messages. An apparent relative of the defendant answered the phone but declined to comment or confirm her family relation.<\/p>\n

Martinez was arrested Thursday after chaos erupted and a shot was fired during protests in Espa\u00f1ola about plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.<\/p>\n

Installation of the statue was planned for Thursday but was canceled by county officials amid security concerns. The statue of O\u00f1ate in armor on horseback was commissioned in the 1990s and installed near Espa\u00f1ola amid fanfare and resentment. The statute was taken down in 2020 during a national movement for racial justice that sought to topple countless monuments.<\/p>\n

The victim of Thursday\u2019s shooting, a 42-year-old man, was flown to an Albuquerque hospital for treatment of a wound to the abdomen. His condition was not immediately available from state police overseeing the shooting investigation.<\/p>\n

A warrant for Martinez\u2019s arrest includes testimony from witnesses who described an otherwise peaceful protest Thursday and the arrival of several men in \u201cMAGA\u201d hats. One witness told state police that protesters\u2019 children were gathered together near a makeshift shrine at the pedestal intended for the O\u00f1ate statue, amid misgivings about safety, and that \u201cpeacekeepers\u201d blocked Martinez\u2019s way from entering the area.<\/p>\n

Police reviewed video of the confrontation as recordings circulated on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cRyan is seen attempting to rush the shrine and being stopped by a group of men,\u201d Officer Shane Faulkner says in the narrative. \u201cAs Ryan (retreated) back over the short wall, a man can be heard saying, \u2018Let him go.\u2019 The group of men do not try to pursue Ryan, and Ryan pulled his handgun from his waistband and shoots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez was transported to a detention center in the Rio Arriba County government seat of Tierra Amarilla. A hearing on possible terms of pretrial detention is scheduled next week.<\/p>\n

A pretrial services report showed no prior convictions for Martinez and no prior failures to appear in court.<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Counter
Counter protester Johnny Villareal, of Alcalde, holds a \u201cViva O\u00f1ate\u201d sign while protesters gathered in front of the Rio Arriba County Complex to protest the placing of a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate in front of the building on Thursday. Luis S\u00e1nchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican<\/span>Luis Sanchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jennifer
Jennifer Marley, San Ildefonso Pueblo, and others hug after a man was shot during a rally outside the Rio Arriba County building, in Espanola, N.M., Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. The rally was in protest of a statue of Juan Onate that was to be resurrected. Eddie Moore\/Albuquerque Journal<\/span>Eddie Moore<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"First
First responders arrive at the scene of a shooting Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Espa\u00f1ola, N.M., where a protest over a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate turned violent. A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly shooting and wounding a man at the protest Thursday, authorities said. Luis S\u00e1nchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican<\/span>Luis S\u00e1nchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Activists
Activists tend to a shooting victim during a protest where officials had planned to install a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Espa\u00f1ola, N.M. (Luis Sanchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)<\/span>Luis Sanchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A law enforcement officer stands as protesters clash at the site of a planned installation of a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Espa\u00f1ola, N.M. A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly shooting and wounding a man at the protest Thursday, authorities said. (Luis S\u00e1nchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)<\/span>Luis Sanchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Protesters
Protesters react after a shooting during a protest where officials had planned to install a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Espa\u00f1ola, N.M. (Luis Sanchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)<\/span>Luis Sanchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Justine
Justine Teba, with the group Red Nation, addresses the crowd in front of the Rio Arriba County Complex while protesting the placing of a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly shooting and wounding a man at the protest Thursday, authorities said. (Luis S\u00e1nchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)<\/span>Luis Sanchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ryan
Ryan Martinez, right, talks with law enforcement before violence erupted as activists protested a postponed installation of a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Espa\u00f1ola, N.M. Martinez was taken into custody after one man was struck by the gunfire, according to police on Thursday. (Luis Sanchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)<\/span>Luis Sanchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Activists
Activists place offerings at an empty pedestal where Rio Arriba County officials had planned to install a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de O\u00f1ate on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Espa\u00f1ola, N.M. A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly shooting and wounding a man at the protest Thursday, authorities said. (Luis S\u00e1nchez Saturno\/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)<\/span>Luis Sanchez Saturno<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Mexican faces charge of attempted murder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-31407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81431,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31407\/revisions\/81431"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31407"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=31407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}