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Border Patrol Says Agents Acted Properly At Marfa Checkpoint After Presidio County Woman Alleges Mistreatment

Correction: A previous version of this article referred to Jennifer Weaver as an Arizona resident. Weaver in fact lives in Presidio County, Texas. The newspaper covering her allegations of mistreatment is an Arizona publication. We regret the error.

A high school teacher who lives in Presidio County says she has been stopped twice in recent weeks at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint south of Marfa tells the Arizona Republic newspaper that she was mistreated both times and that the second time--she alleges--an agent threatened to shoot her if she moved as she was pulled out of her truck.

The Border Patrol disputes that claim.

Here’s the back story.

The teacher, Jennifer Weaver has a legal permit to carry guns. She says she was told by the Border Patrol that a dog had made an alert on her vehicle.

Weaver tells the Arizona Republic that when she told the agents--the first time-- that she was carrying two pistols in her glove compartment, she was forcibly placed on the ground and held for an hour before being told she could leave.

Two weeks later, she alleges she went through a similar experience only that time--she claims--an agent threatened to shoot her if she moved while agents removed her from her truck.

Bill Brooks is the spokesperson for the Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector which runs the Marfa checkpoint. He says agents acted properly adding that Weaver was furnished with instructions on how to file a complaint should she wish to.

"Our agents are required to treat the people they encounter respectfully," Brooks told Marfa Public Radio.

It's unclear at this time if a complaint has actually been filed.