# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DeIqY7amzSj
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71448746-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/3864a34d89.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-06T02:00:51.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

Border Patrol agents arrested protesters at a camp in Lochiel, Arizona, on Monday, and the cottonwood tree they had spent more than 70 days guarding was cut down for border wall construction.

The tree, about 200 years old according to protesters and local reports, was the last of four cottonwoods that Customs and Border Protection had marked for removal on federal land for a new double border wall. Some estimates put the grove at up to 250 years old. Protesters had camped around it since July 29, on private land next to the border.

They call the cottonwoods “grandmother” trees, a name that began with an Indigenous women and youth-led solstice ceremony in June, activists say. One activist described the trees as sacred to the Tohono O’odham and Yaqui peoples. The camp held a sunrise prayer for the land every morning, and Arizona Luminaria reports agents entered the camp during that prayer around 6:30 a.m. The tree came down about two hours later.

Outlets reported at least 10 arrests, and CBP did not say how many. Protesters say agents entered private property without a judicial warrant, and CBP did not respond to questions about that. CBP told Arizona Luminaria it has now removed all four cottonwoods on federal land that were marked for removal, and a CBP spokesperson has said the agency recognizes the importance of protecting the environment, wildlife, and cultural resources during border wall construction.

Source: Arizona Luminaria, Sue Echelmeyer, Tohono O’odham Nation

#Lochiel #BorderWall #Arizona #ArizonaNews #Cottonwood

## Stats

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## Tags

lochiel, arizona, borderwall, cottonwood, arizonanews

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