Proponent of defunding police Democrat in key election once threatened to ‘kill’ and ‘bury’ man on phone: police files

FIRST ON FOX: An incumbent House Democrat running in one of the country’s toughest House races in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District threatened to “kill” and “bury” a fellow student during an argument while he was a college student, according to records obtained Police records show verified by Fox News Digital.

Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who was enrolled as a student at New Mexico State University, was the subject of a police report filed by another student that alleged Vasquez used the “telephone to frighten, intimidate, threaten,… harass” and threatened to “kill” and “bury” him.

In the February 2005 police report obtained by Fox News Digital, Vasquez admitted to making a call that was perceived as a threat but apologized and said he was “very upset” by the condition of a suffering friend, according to police by him He suffered alcohol poisoning on his birthday after being pressured to drink alcohol and later died.

The victim claimed in the police report that Vasquez not only threatened the lives of the people involved, but also used “several curse words in Spanish.”

Vasquez got off with a warning after promising not to contact the person again and the matter was closed.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the person who filed the complaint against Vasquez, but he refused to talk about the complaint, saying they had “reconciled” and “moved on with our lives.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Dylan McArthur, Vasquez’s campaign manager, said: “It is sad to see Yvette Herrell stoop so far as to use the death of a close college friend nearly 20 years ago to cast doubt on the congressman’s character “To lie because she’s trying to distract people from her horrific history of wanting to ban all abortion in the state.”

Vasquez’s interaction with police wasn’t the only time he had problems with law enforcement.

The year before, Vasquez reportedly had a controversial interaction in New Mexico when a police report accused him of using the “n-word” while calling one of his former employers, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Vasquez denied being the person who made that call in a statement to the Daily Mail, saying: “I have not used and would never use such language, this attack is categorically false.”

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Police records first reported by the Washington Free Beacon also show that Vasquez was arrested by Las Cruces police in 2005 after neighbors filed a noise complaint. Before his arrest, Vasquez allegedly tried to flush marijuana down the toilet.

Vasquez was also involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend in Las Cruces after an argument broke out over her drinking too much, which resulted in police coming to his home “in regards to a possible domestic aide.” . Vasquez was not arrested in this incident, which did not involve physical violence.

It was also reported that Vasquez failed to appear in court in El Paso, Texas, in 2002 for driving without insurance, and that a warrant was issued for his arrest in April 2008. That warrant was ultimately executed in March of this year, resulting in Vasquez, who posted a cash bond of approximately $900 and pleaded no contest Washington Free Beacon reported.

Vasquez is running against former New Mexico Congresswoman Yvette Herrell in a race that the Cook Political Report rates as a “Democrat toss.”

“Threats to kill and bury someone should not be glossed over,” Herrell said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This is extremely dangerous and clumsy behavior by Gabe Vasquez, and he owes the Second District of New Mexico an immediate explanation and apology.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Courtney Parella, spokeswoman for the Congressional Leadership Fund, said: “A disturbing pattern of behavior continues to emerge from Gabe Vasquez that is completely disqualifying for someone in his position.”

“There is no excuse in the world that makes it okay to harass, scare, intimidate and threaten another person’s life. But for Vasquez, it just comes naturally.”

In light of Vasquez’s clashes with police departments in New Mexico and Texas, the congressman has advocated for policies that defund police departments.

Vasquez appeared on a local news station appeared to be in disguise during the George Floyd riots in 2020, saying, “It’s not just about defunding the police, it’s about defunding a system that privileges white people over everyone else.”

Vasquez had previously vowed that he would “fully support” cutting the police budget in half in Las Cruces, where he served on the City Council. Fox News Digital previously reported.

“I fully support police reform and the #blacklivesmatter movement and will not shy away from transformative reform that brings justice to our city and people of color in our community. You can count on my support,” Vasquez wrote to a constituent, calling for “at least” a 50% cut to the Las Cruces Police Department budget.

In a statement to Fox News Digital in 2022, Vasquez said: “I oppose defunding the police. As a Las Cruces council member, I have repeatedly voted to increase funding for police and worked with them while supporting common sense reforms.”

“Gabe Vasquez has a long history of extreme verbal abuse,” NRCC spokeswoman Delanie Bomar told Fox News Digital. “When I call a former colleague the N-word, and now, it is very clear that Gabe is unfit to hold public office and that he does not represent New Mexico values.”

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report