Four Arizona women are convicted of entering a refuge to give food and water to migrants

Four Arizona women are convicted of entering a national wildlife refuge to give food and water to migrants

  • Volunteers Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick were convicted of entering a wildlife refuge on Friday   
  • They were giving water to migrants at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge
  • Friday’s ruling is first conviction against humanitarian aid volunteers in 10 years

A federal judge has found four women guilty of entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit as they sought to place food and water in the Arizona desert for migrants.

US Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco’s ruling Friday marked the first conviction against humanitarian aid volunteers in a decade.

The volunteers include Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick. 

The four, who were found guilty of misdemeanors in the recent case, were volunteers for No More Deaths, which said in a statement the group had been providing life-saving aid to migrants. 

A federal judge has found Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick guilty of entering a wildlife refuge to give food and water (file image) to migrants in Arizona

The four, who were found guilty of misdemeanors in the recent case, were volunteers for No More Deaths, which said in a statement the group had been providing life-saving aid (file image) to migrants

The four, who were found guilty of misdemeanors in the recent case, were volunteers for No More Deaths, which said in a statement the group had been providing life-saving aid (file image) to migrants

Hoffman was found guilty of operating a vehicle inside Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, entering the federally protected area without a permit, and leaving water jugs and cans of beans there in August 2017. 

The others were found guilty of entering without a permit and leaving behind personal property.

Velasco wrote in his three-page order that the defendants ‘did not get an access permit, they did not remain on the designated roads, and they left water, food, and crates in the Refuge’.  

According to Velasco, No More Deaths ‘failed’ to warn the women about the  consequences of violating the refuge’s regulations. 

He said the women had acted ‘in the mistaken belief’ that a worst-case scenario for them would have been to get a citation or barred from the refuge.

During their three-day trial, McCormick said she the work was almost ‘sacred’. 

During their three-day trial, McCormick said she the work was almost 'sacred'. She said the refuge was 'like being [in] a graveyard,' because of the number of migrant (file image) deaths that had taken place there

During their three-day trial, McCormick said she the work was almost ‘sacred’. She said the refuge was ‘like being [in] a graveyard,’ because of the number of migrant (file image) deaths that had taken place there

According to AZ Central, she said the refuge was ‘like being [in] a graveyard,’ because of the number of migrant deaths that had taken place there.

Five other volunteers with No More Deaths face unrelated charges for similar activities on Cabeza Prieta.

Their trials are scheduled to begin in the next two months. 

The women’s conviction is the first against humanitarian aid volunteers along the US-Mexico border since 2009.

That year, a another No More Deaths volunteer was found guilty of littering for dropping off water jugs at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk