A Texas National Guardsman deployed to assist in managing the state’s southern border crisis has been nabbed after attempting to transport an illegal migrant past a highway checkpoint and fled the scene.
The drama unfolded on Sunday, according to Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, who said the soldier was approaching a tactical Border Patrol pop-up operation along Highway 674. Before arriving, the silver GMC SUV did a U-turn, raising the suspicion of the station patrol who attempted to pull the vehicle over. That resulted in a chase that ended with the soldier’s arrest, as seen in body cam footage below.
“I’m so stupid,” said the soldier, who was driving the vehicle pulled off the road using a spike strip.
“Yeah, you are f****** stupid,” replied the arresting officer. “You know how many people you could’ve killed?”
The driver confirmed he was carrying a weapon in the SUV during the pursuit. Police confirmed that the migrant in tow “bailed” during the chase and ran off-road into some underbrush.
The Texas Department of Public Safety later confirmed that the soldier is 26-year-old Texas State Guard Soldier Savion Johnson.
NewNation correspondent Ali Bradley, who obtained the county’s body cam footage, confirmed with sources that Johnson was expected to be released from jail later that day.
In a statement, Governor Greg Abbott called the Guardsman a “traitor” to law-abiding Americans.
“If the allegations are true, the accused is a traitor and a criminal. We have zero tolerance for Texans who violate laws that directly contradict the mission we are seeking to achieve. The accused’s illegal smuggling may subject him to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of at least 10 years. He deserves more,” the Republican said in a statement.
Johnson will likely face charges including evading arrest, smuggling of persons and unlawful carry of a weapon.
WATCH:
The record-breaking wave of illegal migrants crossing into the U.S. has been shouldered most heavily by Texas, which counts more than 1,200 miles along its border with Mexico. Some of those arriving have claimed they are seeking asylum or permanent residence while President Joe Biden is still in the White House, viewing his policies as more favorable than the mass-scale deportations that would likely occur if former President Donald Trump is elected in November.
A new Texas law allowing for the arrest of suspected illegal migrants is on hold pending a federal appeals ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court previously sided with the Lone Star State’s assertion that it has a right to defend itself amid failures at the federal level to stem the flow of illegal crossings or even commit to basic repairs of border walls.