LOOKOUT Publications

10/09/2026

Border Patrol agents arrested at least eight people Monday who were protecting a cottonwood tree in Lochiel, Arizona. Then they cut the beloved “grandmother” tree down.

Activists have rotated through a tree sit since July 29, halting border wall construction near the tree they call “grandmother.” Activists say the action halted construction along a 29-mile stretch of the border.

Agents entered camp around 6:30 a.m. during a sunrise ceremony, according to a press release. Video shows agents surrounding and detaining activists. Agents began cutting the tree down while a person was still in its branches.

This is a developing story. Updates will be made on our website and in the comments of this post. 

Comment on this post and we’ll DM you a link to the article, or find it in the LOOKOUT bio.

10/09/2026

BREAKING NEWS 🚨Border Patrol agents arrested at least eight people Monday who were protecting a cottonwood tree in Lochiel, Arizona. Then they cut the beloved “grandmother” tree down.

Activists have rotated through a tree sit since July 29, halting border wall construction near the tree they call “grandmother.” Activists say the action halted construction along a 29-mile stretch of the border.

Agents entered camp around 6:30 a.m. during a sunrise ceremony, according to a press release. Video shows agents surrounding and detaining activists. Agents began cutting the tree down while a person was still in its branches.

This is a developing story. Updates will be made on our website and in the comments of this post. 

Comment on this post and we’ll DM you a link to the article, or find it in the LOOKOUT bio.

10/09/2026

UPDATE ON LOCHIEL — Border Patrol agents moved on the last tree-sitter, perched over 100 feet up a cottonwood on the Mexican side, overnight into Oct. 9, and she remains roped into the tree.

Earlier this week, witnesses say a Border Patrol agent threatened a different protester, who was locked to a gravel truck for more than seven hours to stop border wall construction, with taking them to “a place where nobody can hear you scream.”

Two days before that, agents raided the protest camp and made at least 20 arrests. Four cottonwoods have since been cut down.

Activists say they’re staying put.

Read the full story here:

After a raid, a seven-hour standoff and the felling of four cottonwoods, activists say they’re staying put. Overnight, agents moved on the last tree-sitter in Mexico.

10/09/2026

UPDATE ON LOCHIEL: Agents moved on the last tree-sitter overnight. She’s still roped into a cottonwood on the Mexican side.

Witnesses say an agent threatened another protester with “a place where nobody can hear you scream.”

Read the story:

After a raid, a seven-hour standoff and the felling of four cottonwoods, activists say they’re staying put. Overnight, agents moved on the last tree-sitter in Mexico.

10/08/2026

Propositions 134 and 135 are on Colorado's November ballot. One would restrict trans students in school sports. The other would ban gender-affirming care for minors.

Supporters say a win would make Colorado the first blue state to pass a law like this by a vote of the people. Organizers fighting the measures say that's exactly why Colorado is a target. It's also a state that has been here before.

In 1992, Colorado voters passed Amendment 2 and earned the nickname "Hate State." This November, Propositions 134 and 135 use the same playbook against transgender people.

We spoke with people who lived through the first fight and with the advocates organizing against this one.

This story is in partnership with Westword.

Read the full story here:

Propositions 134 and 135 revive a 30-year-old fight in Colorado over whether the rights of a politically vulnerable LGBTQ+ group should be put directly to voters.

10/08/2026

Colorado could become the first blue state to pass an anti-trans ballot measure.

Propositions 134 and 135 are on the November ballot. One would restrict trans students in school sports. The other would ban gender-affirming care for minors, and its wording could reach puberty blockers too.

Organizers say Colorado is being picked as a test case. Families who moved here for care are already losing access, after Children’s Hospital Colorado and Denver Health stopped providing it in January.

This story is in partnership with Denver Westword. 

Comment on this post and we’ll DM you a link to the article, or find it in the LOOKOUT bio.

10/06/2026

LOCHIEL UPDATE 🌳 TREE SIT RE-ESTABLISHED IN TIERRA LIBRE, CONSTRUCTION HALTED

Tuesday morning before sunrise, a land defender climbed the last remaining Cottonwood tree in Tierra Libre standing in the path of wall construction. The tree, “Abuela,” stands in La Noria, Sonora, Mexico, with branches and roots straddling the imagined US-Mexico border. The tree was occupied by demonstrators previously on August 18th, resulting in the first ever bi-national tree sit, and is once again halting construction.

Border Patrol agents disrupted a sunrise ceremony, and have taken two land defenders into custody. Border Patrol agents forcibly arrested 10 defenderrs yesterday, and cut down the Grandmother Tree sit that had been established along the line of construction for 71 days.

A land defender on the ground at Tierra Libre  this morning said, “We stand strong and will not be deterred by state violence or intimidation. We call on all people of ceremony, all people of conscience, to come join us now in La Noria and Lochiel, to protect the land, to protect the sacred.”

Credit: Sonoran Desert Press

10/05/2026

BREAKING NEWS 🚨 Border Patrol agents arrested at least eight people Monday who were protecting a cottonwood tree in Lochiel, Arizona. Then they cut the beloved “grandmother” tree down.

Activists have rotated through a tree sit since July 29, halting border wall construction near the tree they call “grandmother.” Activists say the action halted construction along a 29-mile stretch of the border.

Agents entered camp around 6:30 a.m. during a sunrise ceremony, according to a press release. Video shows agents surrounding and detaining activists. Agents began cutting the tree down while a person was still in its branches.

This is a developing story. Updates will be made on our website and in the comments of this post. 

Comment on this post and we’ll DM you a link to the article, or find it in the LOOKOUT bio.

10/05/2026

BREAKING NEWS! Border Patrol agents arrested at least eight people Monday who were protecting a cottonwood tree in Lochiel, Arizona, and cut the tree down. Activists had blocked border wall construction in the area for more than two months.

This is a developing story, and we'll update as details are confirmed.

Read the full story here:

Border Patrol agents arrested people protecting the tree Monday morning, ending a months-long protest that had halted border wall construction in the area.

10/05/2026

BREAKING NEWS 🚨 Border Patrol agents arrested at least eight people Monday who were protecting a cottonwood tree in Lochiel, Arizona. Then they cut the beloved “grandmother” tree down.

Activists have rotated through a tree sit since July 29, halting border wall construction near the tree they call “grandmother.” Activists say the action halted construction along a 29-mile stretch of the border.

Agents entered camp around 6:30 a.m. during a sunrise ceremony, according to a press release. Video shows agents surrounding and detaining activists. Agents began cutting the tree down while a person was still in its branches.

This is a developing story. Updates will be made on our website and in the comments of this post. 

Comment on this post and we’ll DM you a link to the article, or find it in the LOOKOUT bio.