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Tree-sitter forcibly removed by Border Patrol, 200-year-old cottonwood felled for border wall

A tree-sitter was forcibly removed from a 200-year-old cottonwood during an 80-agent raid on a Lochiel, Arizona protest camp, after which contractors felled the tree for the border wall.

Oct 5, 2026Lochiel, AZ

Tree-sitter forcibly removed by Border Patrol, 200-year-old cottonwood felled for border wall
Photo via Arizona Luminaria

More than 80 federal agents, including Border Patrol and the Bortac tactical unit, swarmed a protest camp in Lochiel, Arizona, arresting demonstrators and forcibly removing a tree-sitter from a 200-year-old cottonwood tree. Contractors then used an excavator to topple the tree to make way for Trump's border wall, despite a 70-day tree-sit by land defenders. Witnesses say agents shoved and tackled protesters attempting to reach the tree, and a far-right media group was allowed to film while embedded with agents.

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