Defendant pleads no contest in shooting of Native activist at protest of Spanish conquistador statue

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges of aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of a Native American activist during demonstrations about abandoned plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador.

Ryan David Martinez skuttled his scheduled trial this week at the outset of jury selection on previous charges including attempted murder. Under terms of the plea arrangement, he accepted a combined 9 1/2-year sentence but ultimately would serve four years in prison with two years’ parole if he complies with terms including restitution.

Prosecutors agreed to dismiss a possible hate-crime sentence enhancement. Restitution will be determined later by state probation and parole authorities.

Martinez was arrested in September 2023 after chaos erupted and a single shot was fired at an outdoor gathering in Española over aborted plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de Oñate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.

Multiple videos show that Martinez attempted to rush toward a makeshift shrine in opposition to installing the statue — only for Martinez to be blocked physically by a group of men. Voices can be heard saying, “Let him go,” as Martinez retreated over a short wall, pulls a handgun from his waist and fires one shot.

The shooting severely wounded Jacob Johns, of Spokane, Washington, an artist and well-traveled activist for environmental causes and an advocate for Native American rights who is of Hopi and Akimel O’odham tribal ancestry.

The assault charge stems from Martinez also pointing the gun at a female activist from the Española area before fleeing.

In a statement, Johns said he was disappointed with the plea agreement and said he still regards the shooting as a crime motivated by racial hatred and “a continuation of colonial violence.”

“The lifelong scars and injuries, loss of an internal organ, mental anguish and trauma will be with me forever — and in a couple of years Martinez will live free,” Johns said.

Attorneys for Martinez did not immediately respond to phone and email messages. They have argued that Martinez acted in self-defense.

Santa Fe-based District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies led the prosecution of Martinez and commended Johns and other witnesses to the attack for their resolve.

“The Defendant came into our community, armed with a firearm, to create and stir political discord,” she said in a statement.

The shooting took place the day after Rio Arriba County officials canceled plans to install the statue in the courtyard of a county government complex. The bronze statue was taken off public display in June 2020 from a highway-side heritage center amid simmering tensions over monuments to colonial-era history.

Oñate is celebrated as a cultural father figure in communities along the Upper Rio Grande that trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers. But he is also reviled for his brutality.

To Native Americans, Oñate is known for having ordered the right foot cut off of 24 captive tribal warriors after his soldiers stormed the Acoma Pueblo’s mesa-top “sky city.” That attack was precipitated by the killing of Oñate’s nephew.