Alleged Texas Militia Member Arrested on Weapons Charges near Border

Border Patrol agents working a known smuggling area in Laredo, Texas, arrested an alleged Texas militia member on multiple weapons charges. The man was with two other men in an area about 1,000 feet north of the Texas/Mexico border.

Laredo police were called by U.S. Border Patrol agents, according to a report by KGNS-TV in Laredo, after the agents came upon a truck and three men they said were acting suspiciously in a business area at night. The agents discovered one man, Thomas Rivera, 20, allegedly in possession of several weapons.

Police said Rivera was carrying a rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, knives, a police baton and mace.

While Texas law allows for the open carry of a rifle or shotgun, it does not allow a handgun to be carried openly. As Rivera is 20-years-old, he is not eligible for a Texas Concealed Handgun License. Under Texas law, Title 10, Chapter 46.01 it is also illegal to carry mace and a “nightstick.” If the knife Rivera was allegedly carrying is over five and one-half inches in length that could also be a weapons violation.

Rivera was charged on Thursday with two counts of unlawful carrying of a weapon and two additional counts of possessing a prohibited.

Laredo police have not returned calls from Breitbart Texas for additional information. Whether Rivera has any kind of criminal background that would prohibit him from possessing firearms has not been revealed at this time.

Police said Rivera claimed to be a Texas militia member. That has not yet been confirmed by outside sources.

Breitbart Texas has previously reported how wide open the Laredo Sector of the Texas/Mexico border is. Rivera was arrested in a business area about 1,000 feet north of the Texas/Mexico border. It is an area that, in nighttime, would be an easy location for drug smugglers and human smugglers to bring their cargo across and quickly disappear into the city of Laredo.

Breitbart Texas will continue to monitor this developing story.

Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and on Facebook.