FIRST ON FOX: An incumbent House Democrat, who is involved in one of the tightest House races in the country in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, threatened to "kill" and "bury" a fellow student during a dispute while attending college, according to police records obtained and verified by Fox News Digital.
Rep. Gabe Vasquez, while enrolled as a college student at New Mexico State University, was the subject of a police report filed by another student that claimed Vasquez used the "telephone to terrify, intimidate, threat, harass" him 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 construed as threatening but apologized and said, according to police, he was "very upset" over the condition of a friend of his who was suffering from alcohol poisoning on his birthday after being pressured to drink and later died.
The victim claimed in the police report that in addition to threatening the lives of the people involved, Vasquez used "several bad words in Spanish."
Vasquez got off with a warning after promising not to contact the individual again and the matter was closed.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the individual who filed the complaint against Vasquez, but he refused to speak about the complaint and said they "conciliated" and "went on with our lives."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Vasquez's campaign manager Dylan McArthur said, "It’s sad to see Yvette Herrell stoop as low as using a close college friend's death from nearly 20 years ago to lie about the Congressman’s character because she is trying to distract people from her horrible history of wanting to ban all abortion in the state."
Vasquez's interaction with the police was not the only time that he has had issues with law enforcement.
The year before, Vasquez reportedly had a controversial interaction in New Mexico when he was accused in a police report of using the "n word" while calling a former employer of his, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Vasquez denied being the individual who placed that call in a statement to the Daily Mail saying, "I have not and would never use language like this, this attack is categorically false."
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Police records, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, also show that in 2005, Vasquez was arrested by the Las Cruces Police Department after neighbors called in a noise complaint. Vasquez is alleged to have attempted to flush marijuana down the toilet before his arrest.
Vasquez was also involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend in Las Cruces after an argument over her drinking too much, which led police to his home "in reference to a possible domestic." Vasquez was not arrested in that incident, which did not include physical violence.
It has also been reported that Vasquez failed to appear in court in El Paso, Texas, in 2002 for driving without insurance and that a warrant for his arrest was issued in April 2008. That warrant was finally carried out in March of this year, resulting in Vasquez posting a roughly $900 cash bond and pleading no contest, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Vasquez is running against former New Mexico Congresswoman Yvette Herrell in a race the Cook Political Report ranks as a "Democrat toss up."
"Threats to kill and bury someone should not be glossed over," Herrell told Fox News Digital in a statement. "This is extremely dangerous and unhinged behavior from Gabe Vasquez, and he owes New Mexico’s Second District an immediate explanation and apology."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Congressional Leadership Fund spokesperson Courtney Parella said, "A disturbing pattern of behavior continues to emerge on Gabe Vasquez that is wholly disqualifying for someone in his position."
"There’s no excuse in the world that makes it okay to harass, terrify, intimidate, and threaten another person’s life. But for Vasquez, it’s just par for the course."
Under the backdrop of Vasquez’s run-ins 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 seemingly dressed in disguise during the 2020 George Floyd unrest and said, "It's not just about defunding police, it's about defunding a system that privileges White people over everyone else."
Vasquez previously vowed he would "fully support" cutting in half the police budget of Las Cruces, where he served on the city council, Fox News Digital previously reported.
"I wholeheartedly and absolutely support police reform and the #blacklivesmatter movement, and will not be stopping short of transformational reform that brings justice to our city and to people of color in our community. You can count on my support," Vasquez wrote to a constituent demanding "at least" a 50% reduction of 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 Councilmember, I repeatedly voted to increase funding for the police and partnered with them, while supporting common sense reforms."
"Gabe Vasquez has a long track record of extreme verbal abuse," NRCC spokeswoman Delanie Bomar told Fox News Digital. "Between calling a former colleague the n-word and now this, it's very clear that Gabe is not fit to serve in public office, and he does not represent New Mexico values."
Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report
