Woman claims she was punched during annual Farolito Walk

A Santa Fe woman punched a Texas woman in the face, calling her a “neo-Nazi” as Christmas Eve festivities were winding down Sunday on Canyon Road, according to a criminal complaint.

Santa Fe police accuse Scarlett Twocrow of battery stemming from the holiday night episode. However, Twocrow on Wednesday denied that she punched Shannon Rankin, 27, of Plano, Texas.

Rankin told an officer she was walking with friends after 10 p.m. in the Canyon Road area, where thousands attend the annual Farolito Walk after sundown, when she heard Twocrow “screaming and yelling,” according to a police report.

Rankin told police she turned and Twocrow, 31, “became confrontational with [Rankin] for unknown reasons.” Twocrow called Rankin a neo-Nazi and punched her in the face with a closed fist, according to the report. Twocrow was “trying to walk away from the scene” when a public safety aide intercepted her.

The report did not offer an explanation for the insult. A message to Rankin was not returned.

Twocrow, in a brief and terse phone conversation Wednesday, denied she hit Rankin and called the police report “speculation.”

“It’s just not the way that it happened,” Twocrow said. “That’s all I have to say right now.” She then added, “I did not punch that woman.” According to the report, Twocrow did not wish to speak to police on the scene.

When Santa Fe police Officer Javier Vigil asked what had happened with Rankin, Twocrow said she “had no idea what [Vigil] was talking about,” according to the report.

A friend of Rankin’s said he had witnessed the incident and confirmed her account, the report states.

Vigil checked Rankin’s face for injuries and “did not observe anything of relevance.” She did not request medical attention.

Vigil wrote he found sufficient evidence to bring forward a charge against Twocrow, who was not arrested at the scene.