Border activist’s littering conviction is overturned
A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned the littering conviction of an Arizona activist who left gallon-size bottles of water for illegal immigrants crossing into the United States through a desert wildlife preserve.
Daniel Millis of nomoredeaths.org had been convicted of violating a statute prohibiting the dumping of garbage in an area designated as a refuge for endangered species.
In a 2-1 ruling, judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said water didn’t meet the definition of waste. They also took note of Millis’ practice of removing empty water bottles he found while on his missions to avert dehydration deaths in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.
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Illegal border crossers leave a lot of garbage behind. Authorities also find a lot of human bodies in that preserve. And they have posted signs encouraging people to recreate elsewhere because of the danger from border crossers. Water jugs should not be a concern.