The New Mexico group “Cowboys for Trump” is facing criticism after members brought iconic gypsum sands from White Sands National Monument to Washington for a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony — a possible violation of federal law.
Alamogordo Daily News reports the Otero County Commission Chairman and Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin said the group brought four “big plastic bins” of the sand for the ceremony this week.
Griffin said in a video posted to facebook the Cowboys “Were bringing Washington, D.C., some of the most beautiful treasure out of New Mexico.”
But, officials at the White Sands National Monument tweeted that removing natural resources from a national parks unit, including national monuments, is illegal without permission. The tweet went on to read: “The illegal taking of resources from within the national monument is a Class B misdemeanor punishable with a $5,000 fine or six months in jail.”