US persuades judge to stop pro-Trump border wall group

By NOMAAN MERCHANT
December 5, 2019

HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. government persuaded a federal judge to prevent a private fundraising group from building its own wall next to the river that separates the U.S. and Mexico, despite the group’s longstanding claim that it is supporting President Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge Randy Crane’s Thursday order instructs We Build the Wall’s contractor, Fisher Industries, not to install any fencing or walls along the Rio Grande until it has met the requirements of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which oversees the river under international treaty obligations.

The motion came two days after a state judge issued a separate temporary restraining order. Crews had continued clearing brush and preparing to build their planned wall, according to local sheriff’s deputies who visited the site Wednesday.

We Build the Wall has raised $25 million since December 2018, when founder Brian Kolfage launched a GoFundMe page during a government shutdown triggered by Trump’s demands for border wall funding. The organization’s board includes former Trump senior adviser Steve Bannon and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, another Trump ally.

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Kolfage has said in interviews that his group won’t begin construction until it gets the commission’s approval on plans that critics say could cause severe erosion and re-route floodwaters. But on social media and in fundraising messages, Kolfage has repeatedly solicited donations by claiming construction crews are close to installing fence posts just steps from the river.

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