Three Arrested and Charged for Disrupting Border Wall Construction

Cochise County, AZ — On Monday a set of arrests stemming from the ongoing U.S.-Mexico border wall blockade in southeastern Arizona saw three protesters jailed overnight. The arrests mark the first charges in the now months-long struggle against construction of a double border wall along the international border in Arizona.

Three protesters were arrested by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office and booked on charges of disorderly conduct, according to a source on the ground and a press release from local law enforcement.

Video posted to Instagram showed protesters dressed as birds and jaguars, both of which live in the area and rely on the borderlands as their habitat, walking around a worksite along the border wall’s construction zone.

Alex Chabbott, one of the protesters who was arrested Monday, told Unicorn Riot the demonstration was light-hearted and calm, centering around costumed land defenders mimicking local wildlife. Chabbot said four people — two dressed as birds, two as jaguars — paraded around the worksite and interrupted concrete pouring and gravel transportation.

But shortly after they arrived, a construction foreman at the work site parked vehicles around the pickup truck protesters drove there in, Chabbott said, boxing them in. Unable to leave, the group of six people who had traveled there in the truck stayed on the scene.

While boxed in, they said, a foreman tried to enter the truck to take pictures. Chabbott told Unicorn Riot that the foreman threatened and shoved one protester during the attempt to photograph the truck.

After protesters had disrupted work for about an hour, Sheriff’s deputies responded and detained them. A press release from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office accuses the protesters of trespassing in a “restricted construction area.” Three were ultimately arrested and booked into the Cochise County jail in Bisbee, Arizona.

Police and Customs and Border Patrol responded, Chabbott said, before the three were transported to the county jail by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.

While most of the ongoing border wall blockade activity has taken place in Santa Cruz County, Monday’s action and resulting arrests happened in neighboring Cochise County.

The Sheriff of Santa Cruz County, David Hathaway, has voiced his opposition to the border wall’s construction and has reportedly refused to charge or arrest protesters involved in the now months-long blockade opposing the wall in that county.

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, on the other hand, has long peddled inaccurate claims about border security and more recently has become a recurring character in MAGA social and political circles.

As the Phoenix New Times documented, Dannels received a $1 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security shortly after agreeing to collaborate with ICE under a 287(g) agreement, $250,000 of which is earmarked specifically to fund Dannels traveling to border policy conferences and other functions.

Dannels regularly tours with politicians along the section of border wall that crosses his jurisdiction, and in 2025 he was appointed to President Trump’s Homeland Security Advisory Committee.

The three protesters had an initial appearance in Bisbee Justice Court Tuesday morning. Each were released on personal recognizance orders with no bail, but with instructions to avoid the worksite they were arrested at and contact with the workers they encountered there, Chabbott said. Judge Janus Poppe entered a not guilty plea for all three defendants. A support fund for legal defense of the three defendants has been created.

Treesit Blocks US-Mexico Border Wall Construction for Six Weeks in Arizona

Photo collage created by Unicorn Riot, images from Ryan Fatica and rally.forthevalley via Instagram

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