Taos County Compound Suspects Will be Released Until Trial

On Monday, a judge said five adults found with 11 children at a northern New Mexico compound can get out of jail.

Prosecutors, the Taos County sheriff, the undersheriff and an FBI agent all argued that the five suspects are too dangerous to let out of jail. The prosecution's main argument against the five people deputies said were living at a filthy compound was that they were training the children to kill. The FBI interviewed one of the children, who told him they were being taught to use assault rifles to protect the compound.

But the defense attorney fired back and said it's not illegal to teach children how to shoot. Three eyewitness accounts, pictures of tagged evidence and even the Taos County undersheriff's drawings weren't enough to convince a the judge to hold five suspects charged with mainly child abuse behind bars until their trial. Judge Sarah Backus said although she was concerned by "troubling facts," prosecutors failed to articulate any specific threats to the community.

She set a $20,000 bond for each and ordered that they wear ankle monitors and have weekly contact with their attorneys. (KOAT News, August 13, 2018)
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When we look at the photos of the compound, made of stacks of tires, plastic sheeting, and hidden tunnels we certainly question what might be going on there. Photos of the subjects in the case cause us to think that they are radical extremists planning terrorists attacks against the United States.

And, maybe this is all true... but the Judge in this case didn't find that the evidence supported the government's claims.

The government can and does conduct witch hunt investigations, based on clearly false allegations, and allows those investigations to drag on for months. Should the subjects in this case be required to sit in jail while the government has delay after delay in its case? Well, it seems that Judge Backus doesn't think so!

Let's hope that the judge made the right call in this case.