Border activist charged for helping migrants faces second trial

Scott Warren, an Arizona border activist who has been accused of harboring undocumented immigrants, will face his second trial on a pair of charges beginning Tuesday in Tucson, Ariz., The Associated Press reports.

Warren’s first trial was conducted in June but ended with a deadlocked jury.

{mosads}The Ajo, Ariz., resident is a volunteer for No More Deaths, a border humanitarian group that places water in the desert and operates a camp for injured migrants. According to the news outlet, Warren has stated that he has a humanitarian mission to help those in need. 

U.S. prosecutors, however, allege that Warren conspired with two migrant men, giving them directions on how to avoid a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint after they left the No More Deaths camp in January 2018.

Warren’s defense argues that under the Trump administration, groups like No More Deaths have come under increased scrutiny, but on Oct. 31 the prosecution moved to prohibit Warren from mentioning President Trump during the new trial. 

The presiding judge has yet to rule on the prosecution’s motion, according to the AP report.

Court documents show that the investigation into Warren began in April 2017, when Border Patrol received a tip saying that No More Deaths members were aiding undocumented immigrants in their building, known as “The Barn.”

Border Patrol agents eventually came into contact with a man who reportedly said that he had traveled across the desert with two other men who were picked up in a van.

This led agents to the building, where they arrested Warren and two immigrants from Central America on Jan. 17, 2018. The two immigrants were deported by Border Patrol after giving video testimony.

The new trial is reportedly expected to last a little under two weeks.