TPUSA Frontlines Reporter Says Activists Assaulted Him, Slashed Tires At Arizona Border Protest

Turning Point USA’s Frontlines reporting team said activists assaulted reporter and manager Brandon Drey, damaged his recording equipment and slashed two tires on the team’s vehicle Monday during a confrontation over border-wall construction in Lochiel, Arizona.

In an on-scene report posted by Frontlines, Drey said the confrontation began after Border Patrol directed him away from an area where he was filming and onto the opposite side of caution tape, near the protest encampment.

“I went over there with my Osmo, and I just started filming,” Drey said.

Drey said he was wearing Meta glasses when activists confronted him within minutes of his arrival.

“Ripped it off my face, grabbed my Osmo, said I wasn’t real press,” he said while describing the encounter and displaying his damaged glasses.

The report includes an exchange in which someone tells Drey he is on private property. Drey responds that he will leave, and another voice orders him to get out.

Drey said Border Patrol subsequently escorted him away, citing his safety as crews worked to remove the tree.

Frontlines reporter Tayler Hansen said the team also discovered damage to its vehicle.

“They didn’t just assault Brandon, but they also slashed our tires,” Hansen said. He added that a tow truck was on its way to retrieve the vehicle.

SHOWDOWN AT THE BORDER: A scene akin to "CHAZ / CHOP" unfolded on the southern border in Lochiel, AZ.

Dozens of activists faced Border Patrol at a protest encampment after contractors felled a cottonwood roughly 250 years old—one of the trees locals call the “Grandmother”—to… pic.twitter.com/MbXMfEi8nX

— FRONTLINES TPUSA (@FrontlinesTPUSA) October 5, 2026

In its accompanying written statement, Frontlines said the team discovered two slashed tires after returning to the vehicle for first aid.

“Activists have openly mocked and boasted about the slashing while threatening Frontlines staff,” the outlet wrote.

The statement did not identify the alleged assailants or name anyone accused of damaging the tires.

Hansen compared the encampment to Seattle’s CHAZ or CHOP protest zone and described it as an “autonomous zone.” The reporters said protesters had occupied the area since late July to obstruct construction of a double border wall.

The confrontation coincided with a Border Patrol operation at a cottonwood tree protesters called the “Grandmother.” Demonstrators had occupied the tree for more than 70 days in an effort to prevent its removal.

In a separate post accompanying footage from the scene, Frontlines said several activists flanked a lone Border Patrol agent and attempted to rush past him as authorities moved to remove the cottonwood.

“When one activist was detained, several others ran over and de-arrested their comrade,” the outlet wrote, alleging that protesters intervened to free someone from detention.

As Border Patrol moved to remove the cottonwood tree along the easement in Lochiel, Arizona, multiple activists flanked a lone agent and tried to rush past him.

When one activist was detained, several others ran over and de-arrested their comrade.@TaylerUSA | @TPUSA pic.twitter.com/y9PAntT29V

— FRONTLINES TPUSA (@FrontlinesTPUSA) October 5, 2026

Arizona Luminaria reported that the site was in the San Rafael Valley, approximately 25 miles east of Nogales. Protesters camped on private property immediately north of the tree and took turns occupying its branches. Activists told the outlet that at least 12 people had been arrested by 8 a.m. Monday.

A later KJZZ report cited activists as saying 10 people had been cited and released and another 10 arrested. One person’s paperwork listed a citation for violating a closure order and a Jan. 6 court date, according to the outlet. CBP did not answer its questions about the arrests.

Those accounts concerned enforcement at the protest site. The reports did not establish that any arrests were connected to the alleged assault on Drey or damage to the Frontlines vehicle.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Arizona Luminaria that contractors had removed all four cottonwoods identified for removal on federal land in Lochiel, according to an expanded version of the article republished by Inside Climate News. The agency defended the work, saying unauthorized crossings can cause pollution and damage to natural resources.

CBP told KJZZ that environmental monitors had been present before the work. The agency did not answer the outlet’s questions about whether agents had a warrant to enter private property. Protesters accused agents of using excessive force during the operation.

The construction involves two parallel steel barriers along the border. Protest organizer Kate Scott told KJZZ that opposition to the project would continue after the tree’s removal.

Hansen said Frontlines had recorded the tree’s removal and confrontations between agents and protesters and would release additional footage as the team obtained service and left the area.