Francisco "Kiko Martinez, an Alamosa, CO lawyer and activist has filed suit in Federal Court alleging he was illegally detained at traffic stops in New Mexico and two other states because his name is on an FBI terrorist-watch list.
A story in today's Santa Fe New Mexican by David Miles has the details.
Martinez describes himself in the suit as a "longtime and vocal public advocate for the rights of Hispanic peoples and others" and alleges the FBI placed him on a terrorist-watch list in retaliation for his political beliefs or associations.
He said at the news conference he didn't know exactly why he was placed on the watch list but suspects his political activism was behind it. Martinez said his clients have ranged from prisoners to community groups. "I've willingly represented those people, and in the course of that representation, I've gotten myself some enemies because I don't bend over easily," he said.
His lawsuit says he was returning home after giving a speech at The University of New Mexico on April 19, 2005, when Schultz pulled him over for speeding.
Another tribal police officer and Garcia then arrived at the scene, and Schultz told Martinez he thought Martinez had drugs and weapons, and asked to search his car, according to the lawsuit. After Martinez refused, the suit says, Garcia and Schultz forced him to spread his arms and legs for a pat-down search. The lawsuit alleges Garcia and Schultz threatened to seize Martinez's car, then handcuffed him and kept him in a police car.
The suit says a police dispatcher told Schultz that Martinez had no arrest warrants outstanding but was a member of a terrorist group. According to the lawsuit, MacHovina told Schultz that Martinez was on the FBI's terrorist-watch list.
Garcia and Schultz released Martinez after about an hour but not before Garcia told him that the next time, they would "get him," according to the lawsuit.
Martinez does have some history, which might explain, but not justify, why he wound up on a watch list:
In 1973, Martinez was charged with mailing package bombs in Denver to a police officer, a school-board member and a motorcycle shop. He was a fugitive in Mexico until 1980, when he was taken into custody while attempting to cross the border into Arizona.
Many of the criminal charges relating to the mail-bombs and the border crossing were dropped because of insufficient evidence, and juries acquitted Martinez on the other counts.
The public commentary to the news story from local Santa Fe readers is worth a look. I don't know if you have to register to read the comments. Comments follow the story on the linked page.
Needless to say, Martinez is not the only person on a watch list, but his suit is worth watching, although it will be years before anything is resolved.