Utah: Illegal Alien Kills Veteran in Unprovoked Shooting, Democrat Activist Group Blames Guns

WEST POINT, UT - Federal officials have released a statement in the wake of a criminal illegal alien charged with murdering a 71-year-old veteran in Utah this past May, decrying sanctuary policies that allowed the illegal alien to roam freely after prior arrests in California. Meanwhile, a leftist anti-gun organization is framing the veteran’s death as a mere act of “gun violence.”

Whenever there’s a death in the United States involving a firearm, leftists with an anti-Second Amendment agenda will often focus solely on the firearm itself and nothing else. Of course, when said activists are pressed on why their anti-gun agenda needs to be appeased, they’ll often parrot the talking points of preventable deaths, typically articulating the notion of, “if it just saves one life.”

Back on May 30, 71-year-old U.S. Army and Air Force veteran James Randell Witten was gunned down outside of his home while he was doing nothing more than hanging up decorations on his front porch in Utah. The suspect charged with his murder, who was later apprehended on June 16 after being located in Las Vegas, was identified as Axel Eduardo Chavez-Marroquin, an illegal alien from El Salvador.

Illinois-based nonprofit The National Gun Violence Memorial decided to pick up Witten’s killing as part of their featured stories on their website chronicling those killed in firearm-related incidents, featuring a single sentence on the circumstances of his passing which reads, “Lost to gun violence on May 30, 2026 in Clearfield, Utah.”

The aforementioned nonprofit outlines their agenda very clearly in their “About” section on their website, noting the founder wanted to “humanize the problem by showing victims' faces and telling their stories.” Clearly, the “problem," according to the nonprofit, is guns, and Witten’s ‘story’ consists of a single sentence about him being shot.

But Witten’s story involves a lot more than a simple firearm, and his death was certainly preventable in other ways that were ignored by politicians who love to vilify an object but can’t stand to address the actual criminals, particularly ones who shouldn’t have been in the country to begin with.

Homeland Security released a statement following Chavez-Marroquin’s arrest, highlighting how they’ve lodged an immigration detainer requesting authorities in Utah not release the suspect following his criminal proceedings within the state. Apparently, federal immigration authorities have already tried twice to have Chavez-Marroquin face removal proceedings after a domestic violence conviction and subsequent domestic violence arrest in California. However, California being the sanctuary haven it is, the previously lodged detainers were ignored.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis issued a statement on the matter, saying, “This monster is charged with murdering a 71-year-old Army and Air Force veteran in Utah. California sanctuary politicians released this criminal from jail twice after arrests for domestic violence. Following his release, he went on to commit this heinous murder.”

Maybe it’s hypocrisy, maybe it’s intentional, but either way, it’s apparent that leftists don’t honestly believe in the notion of, “if it just saves one life.” A 71-year-old veteran’s life could’ve been saved if federal authorities were afforded the opportunity to enforce immigration law – but leftists seemingly see these kinds of heinous murders as a fair price for their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration.