Title: Reies Tijerina | American activist | Britannica
Headings: Reies Tijerina
Reies Tijerina
American activist

Content: the Tierra Amarilla and the San Joaquín del Río de Chama. La Alianza’s initial membership consisted primarily of the descendents of the original heirs, but the organization grew rapidly and gained national attention in October 1966 when members occupied the Echo Amphitheater, a natural rock formation that rests on the San Joaquín land. The group reclaimed the land as the Republic of San Joaquín and even arrested two forest rangers for trespassing. Since the organization could not afford to fund a trial, La Alianza charged the government with the burden of proving who owned the land. After five days La Alianza members turned themselves in, and five, including Tijerina, were charged with assault on government officials. Tijerina was released on bond. On June 5, 1967, La Alianza members raided the local courthouse in Tierra Amarilla in an attempt to perform a citizen’s arrest of the local district attorney for violating their civil rights and thwarting the organizing efforts of the Tierra Amarilla grant heirs. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now
After being arrested, tried, and acquitted for the Tierra Amarilla courthouse raid, Tijerina gained international attention and entered national civil rights politics, forming alliances with Black Power advocates and rising Chicano leaders and serving as the Latino leader of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. However, despite a defense of double jeopardy, Tijerina was sentenced to federal prison in La Tuna, Texas, in 1970 for his involvement in the courthouse raid and was later transferred to a mental hospital in Springfield, Missouri.