Not satisfied with just detaining hundreds of immigrants at the border, a member of a heavily armed militia cited Adolf Hitler and suggested "lining them up and shooting them," according to a police report of the incident and a member of the group.

The jarring comment was made while members of the militia group known as the United Constitutional Patriots (UCP) observed several migrants crossing the US–Mexico border in New Mexico, prompting the man, who was already armed with a handgun, to run to his car and grab an AR-15 rifle.

"Why are we just apprehending them and not lining them up and shooting them?" Armando Delgado Gonzalez, 52, allegedly told a militia member known as "Viper." "We have to go back to Hitler days and put them all in a gas chamber."

The following day, "Viper" — identified by police in the report as Steven Brant — reached out to Sunland Police to report the incident. Members of the UCP, he told police, asked Gonzalez to leave the group immediately.

The exchange was first reported by the Young Turks, which obtained the police report of the incident. The incident was verified to BuzzFeed News by a member of the group, who said the comments raised alarms within the militia and prompted them to contact police.

In a phone interview with BuzzFeed News, Gonzalez denied making the comments and said he left the New Mexico camp two days after the alleged incident.

"I never said that," he said. "That conversation never took place."



Gonzalez said he left feeling "frustrated" and "betrayed" by what he described as limits placed on the group and Border Patrol agents to stop immigrants from entering the US.

"I fought a war to fight for our rights, and this is what they do with it?" Gonzalez said. "If I was to haul an illegal in my vehicle I would get all sorts of charges dropped on me. Border Patrol ain't allowed to touch them. They're just letting them through."

Another member of the group, Jim Benvie, told BuzzFeed News the group decided to contact police because Gonzalez's comments "were a red flag."

"So we immediately asked him to leave," Benvie said. "None of us knew him. He just showed up at the border. When he started talking crazy, we made a decision that he had to go."

Gonzalez said he was aware that police were looking into the incident after being contacted by a law enforcement official, but he hasn't returned their calls and texts.

Known as the United Constitutional Patriots, the group is not the only paramilitary group to descend on the US–Mexico border to detain undocumented immigrants. Prompted by news reports of migrant caravans headed to the border and the Trump administration's push to send military personnel to the border, dozens of unregulated militias have called on members to help in the effort.

Militia groups, who often refer to themselves as part of the “Patriot” movement, have drawn a variety of supporters into their ranks over the years, including anti-government extremists, gun rights advocates, conspiracy supporters, and anti-immigration advocates.

Groups monitoring extremist organizations saw a resurgence in militia membership in 2008 after the election of Barack Obama as president, with many groups expressing anti-government views and goals. Some of those groups have remained active and, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, many have refocused their attention on “perceived adversaries” such as Muslims and immigrants.

According to documents obtained by Newsweek, the Defense Department estimated there were about 200 armed militia groups operating at the border at the end of 2018.