Man calls Border Patrol worker ‘traitor,’ attacks another at NM post office, feds say
A man confronted two on-duty U.S. Customs and Border Patrol employees at a New Mexico post office, calling one a “traitor” before attacking and wrestling with the other worker, court documents say.
About a week earlier, Andrew Josiah Segura threatened a different CBP employee and also called him a “traitor” at a local truck stop and convenience store on Feb. 11, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.
“I will smack the (expletive) out of you,” Segura warned the CBP agent at a Love’s Travel stop, where the agent stopped to get lunch, an affidavit says.
Segura denies the government’s allegations, his defense attorney, Brock Benjamin, said in a statement to McClatchy News on March 18.
Segura, 28, of Santa Teresa, is charged with assaulting CBP employees in connection with the incidents in February, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a March 17 news release.
The criminal complaint shows Segura is specifically charged with assault, resistance, opposition and intimidation of an officer or employee of the U.S. involving physical contact in relation to the Feb. 19 incident at the post office.
“Witnesses reported that Segura’s actions appeared unprovoked and were specifically targeted at the CBP employees because of their employment, as he did not bother anyone else at the post office,” prosecutors said.
He was arrested March 7, according to court records.
The post office encounter
On Feb. 19, two CBP employees encountered him at the U.S. Post Office in Santa Teresa, according to an affidavit.
The employees drove to the post office in a CBP vehicle, which displayed Department of Homeland Security and CBP decals, to see if any inbound mail had arrived, the affidavit says.
Santa Teresa borders Mexico and Texas. It’s a 15-mile drive northwest from El Paso.
According to the affidavit, both CBP employees, a mission support specialist and mission support assistant, were there to check if mail had arrived for the CBP Santa Teresa Port of Entry as “part of their official CBP duties.”
Once they parked at the post office, the affidavit says, a driver, who was identified as Segura, “stopped in the lane of travel in front of, and perpendicular to the CBP vehicle as if to block it.”
Segura started yelling at one CBP employee, then left after the employee got back in his vehicle “to avoid conflict,” according to the affidavit.
After the employee entered the post office, Segura showed up and began yelling at him again, calling him a “traitor,” the affidavit says.
“You better watch your back,” Segura threatened, according to the affidavit.
The second CBP employee entered the building because he was concerned for the other employee’s safety after seeing Segura walk into the post office, the affidavit says.
That’s when Segura confronted this employee and yelled at him, demanding his name, according to the affidavit.
“After (the CBP employee) refused, Segura placed his open hands on (his) chest and pushed him backwards, initiating a physical confrontation,” the affidavit says.
In response, the employee punched Segura and they started wrestling, according to the affidavit.
During the assault, Segura grabbed the employee’s arms and bruised his right bicep, the affidavit says.
The assault ended when post office employees shouted at Segura, telling him to leave, according to the affidavit, which says Segura then walked out of the building, got in his car and repeatedly drove around the post office.
He ultimately drove off after hearing police sirens, the affidavit says.
Benjamin told McClatchy News that Segura’s “position is that he was in a public place, addressing a public official and was attacked.”
“He denies all the allegations,” Benjamin said.
CBP didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment March 18.
Segura was ordered detained ahead of trial, court records show.
If he’s convicted in the case, he’d face eight years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Man calls Border Patrol worker ‘traitor,’ attacks another at NM post office, feds say."
.jpg)