New Mexico man charged with attempted murder in shooting at protest over Spanish conquistador statue

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man has been charged with attempted murder in a shooting that wounded one person at a protest over plans to install a statue of a Spanish conquistador outside government offices in the northern New Mexico city of Española. Defendant Ryan David Martinez was read the felony charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon at his first appearance in municipal court Friday. No plea was entered. A temporary public defender assigned to Martinez could not be reached immediately by phone, and an apparent relative declined comment. The battle over the statue of Juan de Oñate spans decades amid conflicting sentiments about Spain’s conquest of what is now the Southwestern U.S.