Member of racist group plotting Santa Fe takeover brings gun to council meeting to ‘unnerve’ people

A member of a group in Santa Fe that has become notorious for posting racist messages on its Facebook page brought a gun with him to a Santa Fe City Council meeting with the explicit motive of intimidating people.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Roger Rael, a man who is associated with the local activist group Santa Fe Power and who is considering running for city council himself, brought the gun to a public meeting Thursday night that was organized to protest the racist rhetoric used by Santa Fe Power group members.

During the meeting, Rael slammed critics of Santa Fe Power who accused the organization of being racist.

"We all share this responsibility here," he said. "We all, as a community, should be ashamed of it and stop pointing fingers at one person."

Santa Fe Power came under fire this week after one of its members posted a photo that portrayed Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) as an orangutan, while another member posted a poem that attacked Hispanics.

In response to Rael attempting to intimidate people attending the meeting, Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales slammed using firearms "to intimidate anyone — whether councilors or members of the public."