SANTA FE, N.M. — On Monday, a man from New Mexico entered a plea of no contest to lesser charges, including aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. This came in connection with the shooting of a Native American activist during protests related to an abandoned initiative to reinstall a statue of the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate.
Ryan David Martinez avoided a jury trial set to begin this week, where he previously faced more serious allegations such as attempted murder. As part of a plea deal, he has agreed to a sentence totaling 9 1/2 years, though he will likely spend only four years in prison followed by two years of parole, contingent upon meeting specific conditions, including the payment of restitution.
The prosecution decided to eliminate a potential hate-crime enhancement in relation to his sentence. The details for the restitution amount will be established later by the state’s probation and parole department.
Martinez was detained in September 2023 after a tense gathering in Española erupted into chaos, with a gunshot being fired amidst discussions about the controversial statue of Oñate. Oñate is a historically polarizing figure whose legacy includes the establishment of early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.
Footage from the incident reveals that Martinez attempted to approach a makeshift memorial opposing the statue’s installation, but was physically obstructed by a crowd. After retreating over a small wall, he drew a handgun from his waist and fired a shot, which critically injured Jacob Johns. Johns, hailing from Spokane, Washington, is an artist and advocate for both environmental and Native American rights, with tribal ties to Hopi and Akimel O’odham heritage.
Additionally, the aggravated assault charge relates to Martinez’s act of aiming the firearm at a female activist before his escape. In a statement, Johns expressed his discontent with the plea agreement, describing the shooting as a racially motivated criminal act and a continuation of colonial violence.
Johns shared, “The lifelong scars and injuries, the loss of an internal organ, mental anguish, and trauma will follow me forever — meanwhile, in a few years, Martinez will be free.”
Martinez’s legal representatives have not provided immediate responses to inquiries but have previously defended their client’s actions as self-defense. The Santa Fe District Attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, who led the prosecution, praised Johns and other witnesses for their courage.
Carmack-Altwies stated, “The Defendant came into our community, armed with a firearm, to create and stir political discord.”
The violent event occurred one day after the officials from Rio Arriba County scrapped plans to install the contentious statue at a county government complex. The bronze sculpture had been removed from public view in June 2020 amid growing opposition surrounding monuments that reflect colonial history.
Oñate is idolized in certain communities along the Upper Rio Grande for his contributions as a cultural father figure, but he is also reviled for his violent actions. Particularly notorious is the order he gave to sever the right feet of 24 captured warriors after his troops attacked the Acoma Pueblo, an act that followed the death of his nephew.
