SAN DIEGO.- An event organized by anti-immigration activists to block traffic at the southern ports of entry on September 20th never materialized. The spokeswoman for "Shut Down All Ports" cancelled the protest after an alleged "unsubstantiated threat of mass violence to attendees." Among many "non-negotiable demands", the group primarily sought the immediate release of detained former marine Andrew Tahmooressi from a Mexican jail.

The cancellation came just two days after the family the former marine announced via their Facebook support page that they "believe any plan to shut down border crossings is not an acceptable way to protest Andrew's confinement. Demonstrations like this are not legal, not effective and needlessly inconveniences and endangers others, including hard working law enforcement officers and citizens on both sides of the border."

Stasyi Barth, who is one of the organizers of the event states that " If you attend, you are not just putting yourself in danger, but the law enforcement officers, as well. They are there to watch you, the protesters against you and the unknown threat." No specifics were disclosed as to the threat which supposedly included "suspicious activity on the Facebook site. "

[p]"Shut Down All Ports" was planning to jam traffic into Mexico and into the U.S. Event attendees were told to park their cars in the middle of freeways and other roadways leading to the southern border starting at 8:00 am today, but even they acknowledged that few people had confirmed attendance in advance. According to reports from Texas, a rally to shut down the border crossing bridge, a total of five protesters showed up to the protest.

[p]In comments in the Facebook post on the event's website, it is said that some of the threats received were from drug cartels. Even supporters don't appear to believe the excuse, and are unhappy about the unexpected cancellation.

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