3 accused of abuse at N.M compound to be released

TAOS, N.M. — Three people accused of child abuse at a ramshackle desert compound were awaiting release Wednesday in New Mexico, where security was boosted at a courthouse amid threats against the judge who cleared the way for the defendants to leave jail. The ruling by District Judge Sarah Backus sparked a political uproar and backlash on social media. Officials evacuated several administrative court offices Tuesday in Taos County as a precaution. The offices reopened Wednesday while the threats were being investigated. The decision to release three of the five extended family members being held in the case came despite assertions by prosecutors that the group was training children to use firearms for an anti-government mission and should remain in jail pending trial. In her written ruling, Backus said she was bound by an “extremely high stan- dard of proof” and that prosecutors failed to present clear and convincing evidence regarding dangers the defendants might pose to the community. “From this meager evidence the court is requested by the state to surmise that these people are dangerous terrorists with a plot against the country or institutions. The court may not surmise, guess or assume,” she wrote. In all, 11 children were taken into custody at the squalid dwelling near the Colorado border during an Aug. 3 raid by authorities who returned three days later and recovered the body of a small boy.