A lacrosse ball thrown into a crowd at a Turning Point USA event on the University of New Mexico campus has led to criminal charges against two men, who police say coordinated the throw beforehand. The event took place on the Albuquerque campus this past Monday, and the fallout has already drawn comparisons to campus unrest tied to the conservative group elsewhere in the country.
Charges Stem From Alleged Coordinated Plan
According to KRQE, two men were arrested and charged for allegedly conspiring to throw items at the crowd during the Turning Point USA event on the UNM campus. Kevin Castro is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct and conspiracy, while Harrison Magnus faces charges of conspiracy, disorderly conduct and concealing identity. Both men were arrested by the Albuquerque Police Department, the station reports.
Court documents cited in the report allege that Castro threw a lacrosse ball toward the crowd, almost hitting a person. The same documents allege that Magnus had been communicating with Castro about plans to throw objects into the crowd, according to the outlet's reporting. The underlying court filings themselves were not made public in the coverage, and the case's next steps have not been reported.
Not the First Flashpoint on UNM's Campus
Turning Point USA events at UNM have drawn scrutiny before. Two earlier Turning Point USA events on campus during that same semester also drew protesters and a police presence, according to Source New Mexico. In one widely covered instance from late November 2022, State Police detained three protesters outside a Turning Point USA event at UNM featuring Charlie Kirk, accusing them of disorderly conduct. That demonstration was held in response to the group's UNM chapter hosting Kirk as a speaker, and a university spokesperson said at the time that UNM did not fund the State Police presence, though the agency took part in event-management planning and the school's Emergency Response Team.
A Pattern Playing Out Beyond New Mexico
The tension surrounding Turning Point USA appearances isn't unique to Albuquerque. Just last week, a debate hosted by the organization featuring Alex Stein at the University of Oregon in Eugene drew protests and three arrests, according to the Daily Emerald. At least three protesters were detained there, with two arrested for disorderly conduct and one for harassment, per University of Oregon communications cited in that report. Roughly 30 officers from the University of Oregon Police Department, Eugene Police and Oregon State Police were on hand for that event.
A university alert following the Oregon incident said those detained had been warned about their behavior and chose to continue anyway. The same alert noted that anyone involved in a disruption found to be connected to the university would face investigation for potential conduct-code or employee-policy violations. No comparable statement from UNM regarding Monday's incident has been reported.
