Entrada protest organizer makes 1st court appearance
A 21-year-old San Ildefonso Pueblo woman arrested Friday during a raucous protest near the Santa Fe Plaza appeared in court for the first time Wednesday with her attorney promising to beat felony charges of battery on a police officer.
Jennifer Marley, a student at The University of New Mexico, did not make any statements before or after her arraignment, but her attorney, Dan Cron, vowed an aggressive defense.
“On behalf of Jen, we appreciate the support, and we’re going to do everything humanly possible to mount a vigorous defense on her behalf,” Cron told more than a dozen supporters who gathered around Marley after the brief court hearing. “We’re ready to go get them.”
Santa Fe County Magistrate Donita Sena entered a not guilty plea on Marley’s behalf.
“Magistrate Court is what’s known as a court of limited jurisdiction; the judges here do not have jurisdiction to dispose of a felony case,” Cron said. “As a result, it’s standard operating procedure that in Magistrate Court, with respect to felony charges, the judge automatically enters a not guilty plea on behalf of the accused.”
Marley, a protest organizer and member of The Red Nation, a group that says it is “dedicated to the liberation of Indigenous peoples from colonialism,” is accused of striking two police officers with a sign during a protest against the Entrada, a costumed re-enactment of what organizers call an accurate account of the “peaceful” reconquest of the city by Spanish conquistador Don Diego de Vargas following the 1680 Pueblo Revolt.
Marley and other Native American activists and protesters call the dramatization a false narrative and a celebration of genocide that should be abolished. Organizers of the annual event, however, say it honors a moment of peace between Indians and European colonists.
Marley is one of eight protesters police arrested after the Entrada. She is, however, the only one facing felony charges of battery on a peace officer, in addition to misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Marley and the other arrested protesters, who were arraigned in Municipal Court, are being referred to on social media as the #SantaFe8.
Cron contends Marley did nothing wrong and refuted assertions by police Chief Patrick Gallagher that police lapel cam video shows Marley purposely swinging a protest sign at police.
“Based on everything that I have seen, honestly my first reaction was, you know, ‘C’mon man, are you kidding me?’ ” the lawyer said. “I think that the way that things unfolded, I don’t see any intent whatsoever there. I can see how whatever movement that there was by Jennifer was precipitated by the close gathering of the police around her. There was absolutely nothing deliberate about that. She has been through [protest] trainings before and knows not to do that. She wasn’t trying [to strike a police officer], and an essential element is intent, and it’s not there.”
Cron said Marley’s next court hearing probably will be in about 30 days. “It’ll be scheduled for a preliminary hearing” to determine whether there is probable cause to move the case to District Court, he said.
“Probable cause can be established in one of two ways: either through a preliminary hearing, which is what would happen here and that’s the next court date that we’re anticipating, or through a presentment to the grand jury,” Cron said. “It is totally up to the District Attorney’s Office as to which of those two options are exercised. We will have the opportunity, though, under either of those options to present evidence on our behalf and, believe me, we think there is plenty out there.”
Cron said Marley’s preliminary hearing has been assigned to Magistrate Judge George Anaya Jr. Anaya and Judge David Segura handle felony cases at Magistrate Court, he said.
For arraignment, Marley appeared before Sena, who, coincidentally, is a former Fiesta queen. Sena served as La Reina of the Fiesta de Santa Fe in 1981.
Cron said he was aware of Sena’s connection to the community celebration.
“We had no qualms whatsoever about her because my extensive experience in front of her is that she’s always been fair,” he said.