ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Early Wednesday morning, New Mexico State Police and UNM police moved in and tore down a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at UNM’s duck pond. The encampment was in place for about three weeks.

In all, seven people were arrested that day, including journalist Bryant Furlow and his wife, photographer Tara Armijo-Prewitt. Furlow is a longtime freelance journalist and frequent contributor to New Mexico In Depth. Armijo-Prewitt has also contributed to New Mexico In Depth.

“My first reaction was that the officers who may have engaged in this activity didn’t understand the importance of the First Amendment,” said Melanie Majors, the executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.

NMFOG is dedicated to government transparency and access.

“If the public doesn’t know what is happening, then how can the public possibly have any confidence in its government?” Majors said.

In a statement, Furlow said he asked officers where media members were permitted to stand and received no response. Furlow said he and Armijo-Prewitt followed police instructions and stayed behind the yellow police tape. He said they were arrested after asking a State Police officer for his name and badge number.

“If the media is arrested for doing their job, where does that leave the rest of us?” Majors said.

KOB 4 reached out to the District Attorney’s Office about the arrest of Furlow and Armijo-Prewitt. We were told that these are officer prosecuted charges. UNM police made the two arrests, so what happens next will be up to the department.

“The UNM Police Department should drop the charges immediately and those officers should be schooled on what is appropriate behavior, and they should face consequences for violations of the First Amendment,” Majors said.

KOB 4 reached out to UNM for comment on the arrests. A spokesperson for UNM said officers are completing supplemental reports and the charges are still in place – although initial charging documents don’t state anything specific that Furlow or Armijo-Prewitt did. The spokesperson said, generally, it was failing to comply with lawful order.