Editing Alianza Federal de Mercedes (section)

==The Tierra Amarilla incident==
On June 5, 1967, in Tierra Amarilla, a small band of [[Chicanos]] affiliated with Alianza Federal de Mercedes attempted to arrest the county's district attorney and put him on trial.<ref name=Ulibarri>[[Sabine R. Ulibarri]], ''Tierra Amarilla; stories of New Mexico/Cuentos de Nuevo Mexico'', University of New Mexico Press, 1971, trade hardback, 167 pages, in English and Spanish, {{ISBN|0-8263-0212-2}}</ref> There were shots fired and two men were wounded.  The invaders held the [[courthouse]] for two hours, ransacking it, but the district attorney was out of town. The [[United States National Guard|National Guard]], equipped with armored [[tank]]s, was called in by [[Governor of New Mexico]] [[David Cargo]]. While the gunmen were in hiding, the National Guard held many of their family members captive. This incident received national publicity and brought the Alianza's cause to public attention.<ref name=Ulibarri/>

Prior to the incident, quoted from The Chicanos: Mexican American Voices, edited by [[Ed Ludwig]] and [[James Santibanez]]. "In June, 1967, Tijerina attempted to hold a mass meeting of the Alianza. The [[District Attorney]] of [[Rio Arriba County]], Alfonso Sanchez, issued a statement on a radio broadcast:

... I wish to give all notice to all Alianza members who plan to be present and participate in the meeting at Coyote tomorrow. That meeting is versus the law since it is planned to take over private property. Criminal charges of [[unlawful assembly]] will be filed against all persons who attend.

The District Attorney did not stop with the warning. The night before the meeting, cars of the [[State Police]] traced swift paths through the night, through the small, darkened towns of Rio Arriba County and to the homes of those members of the Alianza who, they thought, might attend the meeting arranged by [[Reies Tijerina|Reies Tijernia]]. There was sudden pounding on wooden doors, house lights flicked on, startled faces appeared in the night.
"You're under arrest," were the often repeated words.
Nine Alianza members were jailed.
Two days later the Alianza had procured a [[Arrest warrant|warrant]] for the arrest of District Attorney Alfonso Sanchez. Armed, their group entered the courthouse at Tierra Amarilla in an attempt to make a [[citizen's arrest]].