Final ‘grandmother’ cottonwood toppled in Lochiel to clear a path for a new border wall

Armed Border Patrol agents raided a protest camp near Lochiel, Arizona, on Monday morning, clearing the way for contractors to fell the last of four centuries-old cottonwood trees marked for removal to build a double border wall. Activists say at least 12 people were arrested; agents reportedly entered private property without producing a warrant and destroyed tents.

The felled tree, nicknamed the 'grandmother tree,' had been guarded continuously for 71 days by protesters taking shifts sitting in its branches. CBP confirmed in a statement that all four marked cottonwoods on federal land have now been removed, framing the construction as necessary given what it called the environmental damage caused by unauthorized border crossings.

Three other protesters were arrested September 14 after entering the construction site dressed as endangered local species. The new 30-foot wall panels now run east across the valley as far as visible, past a small church and a cross on a nearby hill.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.