A Steve Bannon- and Kris Kobach-tied do-it-yourself border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is facing a wall of its own, after a Texas judge on Tuesday ordered a temporary stop to the GoFundMe-funded project over “imminent and irreparable harm” it will cause to the nearby National Butterfly Center preserve in the Rio Grande Valley region.
The Washington Post reported, “Javier Peña, a lawyer for the butterfly center, told The Washington Post the wall could act as a dam that would redirect floodwater to the sanctuary—a popular spot for school groups and birders—and wipe out its vegetation, thus destroying the site or reducing its property value.” He said, “You can do almost anything with your property. But what you can’t do is hurt other people’s property.”
Not that the Florida man behind the “We Build The Wall” project gives a shit about anyone’s property, and maybe even about a judge’s ruling, apparently. In an email to the Post, Brian Kolfage claimed that there’s “a 50/50 chance this is fake news, and if it’s not it will be crushed legally pretty fast.” It may not be fake news if and when he gets in trouble for violating a court order.
The National Butterfly Center and environmental activists haven’t been alone in condemning this private border wall. “The International Boundary and Water Commission, which oversees boundary and water treaties between the US and Mexico, has also previously raised concerns with the project,” CNN reported, according to The Mercury News in San Jose. “The commission asked the group to provide additional details about construction and halt the use of motorized vehicles on the levee.”
But Kolfage and his associates have behaved much like the loudmouth their wall is paying tribute to, claiming that “anyone trying to stop us is probably benefiting from the cartels.” Or, you know, anyone who is concerned about our preserves and irreplaceable archeological sites and the fact that an out-of-control president is stealing funds to build something not explicitly authorized by Congress. And it’s not just that this project is happening in the face of plenty of opposition; it’s also attracting gun-packing vigilantes and militia. Only the best people.