The church’s Facebook page encouraged people to attend the service, stating “We may be the first church in New Mexico/America to be deputized on May 3, 2020.”
During his church talk Hamilton said Grisham is misusing her executive power under the guise of public health. She is purposely not loosening up restrictions in Sierra County because he has opposed her expansion of background checks and gun control laws, legalization of marijuana and doing away with abortion prohibitions.
In an interview with the Sierra County Sun on Monday, Hamilton elaborated that he feels Elephant Butte Lake State Park remains closed, unlike other state parks, because, “I’ve been an outspoken critic of our Governor. I’ve constantly been critical of her policies. So yes, I do feel we are being singled out and it is retaliatory.”
Hamilton has been highly visible in Santa Fe as the legislative liaison for the New Mexico Sheriff’s Association.
Not allowing non-essential businesses to open is also retaliatory, Hamilton said, since Sierra County has only one case of infection. Elephant Butte merchants are especially affected by the remaining state park closure, since their businesses are seasonal, making most of their money from May to September, “living on their credit cards” over the winter.
Some church-going people feel their right to religious freedom is also being oppressed by the Governor’s order that not more than five people congregate, Hamilton said, noting that the church service “may have been illegal.”
Cooper’s New Hope congregation “practices spontaneous prayer,” Hamilton said. “Spontaneous moving of the spirit can’t be done by live streaming.”
Hamilton addressed guns, abortion, marijuana legalization, second amendment and religious freedom topics in his talk to New Hope congregants on Sunday, stoking a feeling of rebellion and then switching tacks to say he needed their help to “preserve the peace.”
After speaking of the Governor’s abuse of power, Hamilton said, “I also have authority under the law,” pointing to his hip holster and gun. “I am allowed to carry arms on my person at all times,” not only as the chief local law enforcer, he said, but also because it is his right.
Hamilton said he also has the authority to “appoint respectable and orderly persons as special deputies necessary and required for purposes of preserving the peace.”
“I am having to pull the reins back on more extreme citizens,” Hamilton warned, and “it is everything I can do to assure some people this is only temporary.”
Holding his index finger and thumb very close, Hamilton said, “We are this far away from civil disobedience.”
He then informed the congregants his 15 deputies would all have to be quarantined for 14 days if one of them contracted the coronavirus.
“I can’t lose my entire department,” Hamilton said. “What I need are honorable citizens.”
“Our intent is to conserve and preserve the peace,” Hamilton told the deputized congregants, adding that “law enforcement is exempted from the Governor’s order.”
He then asked for volunteers and swore them in en masse.
In Monday’s interview with the Sun, Hamilton said “between 15 and 20” congregants were sworn in.
The church’s Facebook page has memorialized Hamilton’s talk, making a picture of Hamilton at the pulpit its frontispiece, with a quote from his speech to congregants, “I’m here to ensure that I will be that guy that is the barrier between the oppressive government and those officials who are trying to enforce it.”
The livestream has been taken down from numerous sites at this point, but many people viewed it on Sierra County NM Square’s Facebook page before it was deleted.
Of the over 100 people who commented, the vast majority were disturbed by Hamilton deputizing the New Hope congregants.
The two main concerns were lack of vetting and giving power to one religious sect with political and religious views making it difficult to enforce laws impartially, possibly targeting those with opposing views. Separation of church and state was also discussed.
Monday Hamilton said he has given his “investigators” the list of special deputies and all of them are being fully vetted.
The special-deputy, by State law 4-41-10, is not armed by the Sheriff’s Department, but that does not preclude a special deputy from carrying a gun if he or she has a permit.
Hamilton quoted state law 4-41-8 as defining the requirements for a sheriff’s deputy and special deputy: “No person who may be under indictment or may be generally known as a notorious bad character, or as a disturber of the peace shall be eligible to serve as a deputy sheriff, and sheriffs are hereby prohibited from issuing commissions to such persons as deputy sheriffs, and it is hereby made the duty of the judge of the district court upon complaint being made that the provisions of this section have been violated to investigate the same, and if found to be true, such judge of the district court is hereby given authority to revoke any such commission given by any sheriff contrary to the provisions of this section.”
“We’re not waiting for a complaint to be made to a district judge, we’re vetting them beforehand,” Hamilton said.
Asked why he chose to deputize in a church, Hamilton said his emergency plan recognized well in advance he would probably need to deputize citizens. It was also known his office is too small to follow the Governor’s social distancing requirements. The church contacted him and offered their space, which could accommodate the needed numbers.
During Monday’s interview, Hamilton added, “You’ll probably see more deputizations taking place. I’m not trying to put people in a situation they are not trained for. We are going to have ongoing meetings and trainings, such as how to conduct a road block. We also have a lot of ex-law enforcement officers in the community I’ll be in touch with.”
Asked if he feels Sierra County is near insurrection, Hamilton said, “It breaks down the same way it does nationally. About two-thirds are not. About one third are ready to come to arms. About one third says, ‘be patient, what we’re doing is working, give it another two weeks.’ About one third says, ‘we’re not doing enough. Shut down the nation and lock yourselves in a closet.’”
The Governor’s Office was asked to respond to Hamilton’s claim that Elephant Butte Lake State Park is being targeted because he has been voluble in opposing her policies and to give reasons why this state park isn’t open for day-use, as are other state parks.
The Governor’s Press Secretary Nora Meyers Sackett said, “Elephant Butte is not yet open because it is not yet safe for all state parks to open. EMNRD’s website has a list of what is currently open. Parks not yet on that list are being evaluated for spacing and staffing to ensure that they can open for day-use in a safe manner. Again, it has nothing to do with politics.”
“Similarly,” Sackett said, “Per the public health emergency order, houses of worship are not exempt from the ban on mass gatherings and any crowd gathered for a church service is in violation of the public health order.”