FIRST ON FOX: A Wisconsin man driving a stolen vehicle was killed Wednesday after he fled through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint and led authorities on a vehicle chase and shootout in Texas.

The incident happened at around 10:30 a.m. at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint in the Big Bend Sector between El Paso and Van Horn, a remote area. 

James Douglas McMillan, 33, of Greenfield, Wis., took off from the checkpoint after a Border Patrol drug K-9 alerted to the vehicle and agents directed McMillan to pull over for a secondary search, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. 

During the car chase, McMillan opened fire out of his vehicle window at DPS troopers and other authorities from several law enforcement agencies and civilian vehicles, DPS said.  

“As law enforcement returned fire, DPS Troopers performed a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver and successfully stopped the suspect vehicle,” a DPS statement said. 

McMillan barricaded himself in his vehicle and eventually pointed his weapon towards officers, prompting officers to open fire, authorities said. 

He was shot and killed. No law enforcement officers or civilians were hurt.  

Investigators determined McMillan was driving a vehicle reported stolen in Arizona. The shooting is being investigated by the Texas Rangers, with assistance from the FBI and USBP.

In January, a man suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants was shot by federal officers during a gunfire exchange in Arizona. 

Patrick Gary Schlegel, 34, fled from authorities on foot and allegedly shot at a CBP helicopter and at agents, Heith Janke, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix Division, said at the time. 

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Schlegal, a U.S. citizen from Arizona, underwent surgery and survived. No one else was harmed, authorities said. 

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A Democrat running for Congress in one of the most competitive seats in the country once said she would combat systematic racism by redirecting law enforcement funding when asked if she would “defund the police” in 2020.

“I support the reallocation of funding to programs that would allow people to live their best lives,” JoAnna Mendoza, a Marine veteran, told the Arizona Clean Elections Commission and Arizona Capitol Times at a town hall event.

“Such as social service programs. Such as housing, public education, healthcare, ensuring that we are addressing economic stability and environmental safety.”

Mendoza, who is running to represent Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, denied ever supporting defunding the police, according to her campaign.

“Jo Mendoza has been on the record for years that police need MORE resources to do their jobs – not less – including body cameras and training. And she has repeatedly stated that she does not support defunding the police,” Mendoza’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Any other assertion is categorically false, a lie and a political smear from D.C. hacks hoping to save Juan Ciscomani from an early retirement,” the campaign said, referring to the GOP incumbent Mendoza is running against. 

Mendoza did not clarify what she had meant by the 2020 statement. However, her campaign pointed to other comments she made in 2020.

“I do not support defunding the police. Police officers are being asked to do too much. They’re being asked to address issues because of the lack of resources in our communities,” Mendoza said in another virtual event that year.

The Republican National Committee slammed Mendoza in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“There’s no way for JoAnna Mendoza to spin her extreme anti-police views, and Arizonans will know that she sides with dangerous criminals over them,” Nick Poche, a spokesperson for the RNC, told Fox News Digital.

The “defund the police” platform, which at the time was championed by several progressive Democrats, has aged poorly, leading Republicans and Democrats to view mere mentions of the phrase as a political liability in 2026.

The movement first burst onto the scene through the outrage after the death of George Floyd, a Black Minnesota resident who died after a police arrest in which an officer pinned him to the ground by placing a knee on his neck for an extended period. 

His death sparked an uproar in cities across the country over racism in law enforcement and whether police in America could do more to avoid violence during arrests.

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Although the outrage over Floyd eventually subsided, many of the calls to divert resources away from police persisted as a Democratic platform, leading some cities like Minneapolis and Austin, Texas, to reduce their police budgets.

However, the movement began to draw ire from Democrats who feared the party had taken a stance that could be considered at odds with community safety and worsen their odds at the ballot box.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the House Majority Whip under U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in 2021, said the phrase was “cutting the throats of the party.” 

“We keep making that mistake. This foolishness about you got to be this progressive or that progressive,” Clyburn said.

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Other Democratic strategists, such as James Carville, have also condemned the platform.

Carville called the slogan “the three stupidest words in the English language” in interviews in 2024 and went as far as suggesting the slogan could have led to the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid against Donald Trump.

“We could never wash off the stench of it,” Carville added.

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Mendoza faces a tough race in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. Ciscomani, the seat’s current incumbent, narrowly won election in 2024 in a 50%-47.5% victory over Democrat challenger Kirsten Engel.

The district is listed among the Cook Political Report’s most competitive races in 2026, earning one of the 18 seats with a “toss-up” designation.

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Poche believes Mendoza’s previous comments have just made her bid against Ciscomani harder.

“If the Democrats think a defund-the-police radical can beat him, they’re just plain stupid,” Poche said.

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Fans attending the Texas Rangers’ home opening series against the Cincinnati Reds in early April will get their first look at the newly installed, permanent fixture in left field.

Billed as a tribute to the MLB franchise’s namesake, the Rangers unveiled the “One Riot, One Ranger” statue along the left-field concourse at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Monday.

In 2020, the statue was removed from Dallas Love Field amid heightened racial tensions and the group’s complicated history tied to race relations.

The book “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers” examined parts of the law enforcement unit’s past. Its publication coincided with nationwide scrutiny of some police practices after the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

In an Associated Press account about six years ago, around the time the statue was pulled from the airport, “Cult of Glory” identified the figure as Capt. Jay Banks. The book states that, in 1957, Banks led a group of Rangers believed to have blocked Black students from enrolling at a local high school and community college.

In the article, “Cult of Glory” author Doug Swanson said, “There’s a famous picture of him leaning against a tree in front of Mansfield High School while a black figure hangs in effigy above the school, with Banks making no effort to take it down.

“And Banks sided with the mobs who were there to keep the black kids out. So, he was the face of that.”

Russell Molina, a board member of the Texas Ranger Association Foundation, acknowledged the Rangers’ controversial past but said those who lived “up to the ideal” deserve recognition and argued the statue was not solely meant to represent Banks.

“We recognize that the history of the Texas Rangers, like that of our state and nation, includes moments that must be confronted honestly,” Molina said. “While not everyone who has served across more than two centuries lived up to the ideal, most did, and they deserve to be remembered for their service, sacrifice and commitment to the people of Texas.”

Swanson told The Dallas Morning News he hoped the statue’s latest placement would include more context about the organization’s complex past.

Fox News Digital contacted the baseball franchise’s media relations department but did not immediately receive a response. 

According to Globe Life Field’s official website, “While the ‘One Riot, One Ranger’ statue commemorates the legend surrounding the agency’s involvement in the stoppage of an unsanctioned Dallas prize fight in 1896, it also stands as a tribute to all who have served the organization over its storied history.”

Statues of former MLB stars Iván Rodríguez, Adrián Beltré and Nolan Ryan also stand at the Rangers’ retractable-roof stadium.

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