Trump indictment cites false elector scheme in NM

The four-count indictment issued against former President Donald Trump yesterday for his attempts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election includes allegations he and co-conspirators attempted to recruit false electors in seven states, including New Mexico. “This included causing the fraudulent electors to meet on the day appointed by federal law on which legitimate electors were to gather and cast their votes; cast fraudulent votes for the Defendant; and sign certificates falsely representing that they were legitimate electors,” the indictment reads. It also alleges one of six unnamed co-conspirators (Co-Conspirator 5, whom the Washington Post identifies as attorney Kenneth Chesebro) on Dec. 13, 2020, “drafted and sent fraudulent elector certificates for the Defendant’s electors in New Mexico, which had not previously been among the targeted states, and where there was no pending litigation on the Defendant’s behalf.” The next day, Trump’s campaign filed an election challenge suit six minutes before the deadline for the electors’ votes “as a pretext so that there was pending litigation there at the time the fraudulent electors voted.” The Post story also names Santa Fe resident John Eastman as another of the unidentified co-conspirators, identifying him as the lawyer who tried to create a strategy “to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election.” Eastman’s lawyer in a statement said his client is not involved in any plea bargaining and would decline doing so if asked; would go to court if indicted; and would appeal if convicted, the Post reports.

Judge: Rust case will proceed

First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer yesterday denied a motion to dismiss charges against former Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence charges in the case, which stems from the fatal Oct. 21, 2021 on-set shooting in Santa Fe that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. In a filing in late June, prosecutors contended Gutierrez-Reed transferred a “small bag of cocaine” after she was interviewed by police and have alleged she was hungover on the day of the shooting, both statements Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers took issue with at yesterday’s hearing. Sommer said it was too early in the process to argue that a potential jury might be tainted, and that jurisdictional issues raised by defense lawyers have already been resolved. “I think we stay the course,” she said, adding that she didn’t think defense lawyers had shown “actual and substantial prejudice” to justify “an exceptional remedy like dismissal.” Gutierrez-Reed’s preliminary hearing is slated for Aug. 9.

NM AG joins suit against Idaho abortion law

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez yesterday joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general to file legal arguments in a lawsuit challenging an Idaho law that makes it a crime for adults to help minors travel out-of-state for abortion care. According to a news release, a lawyer working with sexual assault victims, the Northwest Abortion Access Fund and the Indigenous Idaho Alliance filed the challenge against Idaho’s “travel ban” in US District Court in Idaho earlier this month. “As many states across the country have implemented severe restrictions on accessing healthcare services, New Mexico has remained a safe haven for reproductive rights, for our citizens and for all those seeking access to essential and safe reproductive healthcare,” Torrez said in a statement. “I will continue to safeguard a woman’s bodily autonomy and join with others that protect these rights across the country.” The amicus brief, led by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, argues Idaho’s law not only endangers minors from Idaho, it also punishes other states’ medical providers and residents. The brief also contends Idaho shouldn’t be allowed to criminalize behavior in other states. A US judge on Monday temporarily blocked Idaho from prosecuting doctors who referred abortion patients to other medical providers out of state.

State seeks injunction against cannabis company

The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department announced yesterday it has filed a petition for a preliminary injunction and is seeking an order from the Second Judicial District Court to require Sawmill Sweet Leaf, LLC immediately cease and desist all cannabis-related activities at the company’s sole business location in Albuquerque. The petition alleges the business has been unlawfully selling out-of-state cannabis products and manufacturing cannabis extracts using volatile solvents without the proper licenses and permits. “A key component of compliance actions is the ability to suspend licenses immediately if they pose an immediate threat to the health, safety and lives of consumers,” Superintendent of the Regulation and Licensing Department Linda Trujillo said in a statement. “While the licensee in question will still receive due process through a formal hearing, we can now ensure New Mexicans are protected from dangerous products or a life-threatening explosion in the interim.” Regulators last month revoked, for the first time, a cannabis business’ license for selling products with California labels. SFR spoke with Trujillo and Cannabis Control Division Legal Counsel Robert Sachs recently about that case and potential forthcoming enforcement actions in the newly legalized recreational cannabis sales sector.

Listen up

In the most recent episode of sexual-violence-prevention podcast Both/And, host and New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Director of Sexual Violence Prevention Jess Clark talks to Ahimsa Collective collaborator Ana Maria Hurtado and Albuquerque-based certified professional coach Anushah Jiwani about the basics of restorative justice, “and how growing restorative practices could impact our world in both deeply personal and systemic ways.” Both/And is a project of the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs.

Lavender fields forever

As anyone paying a modicum of attention to current events knows, the New Mexico Legislature attracted national attention earlier this year by designating an official aroma for the Land of Enchantment: the smell of roasting green chile (which should be starting very soon by the way). Thrillist, however, homes in on another state scent: lavender, in its story on where to see lavender fields while visiting Albuquerque. Yes, obviously, Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm, is an obvious spot, as Los Poblanos both grows copious amounts of lavender and employs said plant in its copious products (hand soap? Check. Simple syrup? Check). And lest you forget, Los Poblanos now has a Santa Fe outpost where one can both buy said products (and many more) and sample the wares. The story also has a shout-out for Jo’s Farms in Albuquerque, where the public lavender-picking day has come and gone, but lavender delights remain. As long as one is driving around smelling lavender, perhaps incorporate what Travel & Leisure has deemed the state’s best park: City of Rocks State Park, halfway between Silver City and Deming, featuring “pinnacles and oddly shaped boulders,” courtesy geology (specifically, rocks that formed approximately 34.9 million years ago when a very large volcano erupted).

The official history of NM hangover food

The words “Allsup’s burrito” will not elicit universal recognition, but for folks from New Mexico and Texas, an immediate and very specific culinary vision, albeit a greasy one, ensues. That particular food item has a particular history, as detailed in a recent story by Texas Monthly. The story begins at an Allsup’s in Clovis, where sales associate Bob Pitcock “had had enough.” Apparently, Pitcock “was tired of customers not buying the baked burritos sitting in the countertop warming box,” while donuts sold steadily. “So, on September 7, 1974, in a moment of desperation—one that would nearly get him fired—Pitcock dropped the burritos into the fryer. The tortilla-wrapped parcels of ground beef and refried beans came out golden brown and sold out immediately. The inside of the shop, which didn’t have a vent, smelled like a grease trap.” If you’re not hooked already, suffice it to say the story grows even more dramatic when Allsup’s founder Lonnie Allsup enters the scene from company headquarters across the street. And, yes, if you’re doing the math, the 50th anniversary of the Allsup’s burrito is just around the corner, and the story pays tribute both to its fried origins and to the convenience store where it originates.

C’mon rain!

The National Weather Service forecasts a 20% chance for precipitation today and tonight, specifically isolated showers and thunderstorms between 1 and 4 pm, then isolated thunderstorms after 4 pm, before 10 pm and then between 10 pm and 1 am. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Otherwise, it should be sunny this morning, then partly sunny during the afternoon, with a high temperature near 88 degrees and northeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon.

Thanks for reading! The Word is adding yesterday’s Booker Prize 2023 long-list to her already long list of to-be-read books.