Trump Militarizes US Border From CA To NM

 

 https://x.com/JimFergusonUK/status/1914247289989669038

Democrat Judge In New Mexico Abruptly Resigns

After suspected Tren de Aragua gang member found with firearm at a residence he owns.
 
Longtime Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano — a Democrat and former police officer — abruptly resigned after federal agents arrested an alleged member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang at a residence he owns.
The bombshell resignation letter, dated March 3, came just days after federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations raided a property tied to Cano and his wife, Nancy, arresting 23-year-old Cristhian Ortega-Lopez on federal gun charges, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
The Venezuelan national, who is in the U.S. illegally and has alleged ties to a ruthless transnational gang, was allegedly in possession of multiple firearms — including ones linked to disturbing images and videos on social media.
Agents recovered four firearms from the neighboring property owned by April Cano.
According to prosecutors, Ortega-Lopez admitted to having fired them. He now faces charges of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms and ammunition — a federal offense that carries up to 15 years in prison. 

Much more at:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/democrat-judge-new-mexico-abruptly-resigns-after-suspected/

Man in New Mexico Dies From Plague in Nation’s First Fatal Case Since 2020
“This tragic incident serves as a clear reminder of the threat posed by this ancient disease.”

In a statement released on Friday, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) announced the death of an unidentified man from Lincoln County.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of the Lincoln County man who succumbed to plague,” said State Public Health Veterinarian Erin Phipps, DVM, MPH. “This tragic incident serves as a clear reminder of the threat posed by this ancient disease and emphasizes the need for heightened community awareness and proactive measures to prevent its spread.”
According to the NMDOH, the man’s death was the first reported human case of the bubonic plague in New Mexico since 2021 and the first death since 2020, when there were four reported human cases of the plague in the state.
Once a great killer, the bubonic plague now infects fewer than 10 Americans a year, according to the CDC. However, the disease has come extremely rare thanks to improved hygiene and innovations of modern medicine like antibiotics.
Most occur in the Four Corners area of the US – New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona – because the area has a high concentration of rodents due to its favorable climate, experts say.
In bubonic plague, the most common type, the infection spreads to immune glands called lymph nodes, causing them to become swollen and painful. These may progress to open sores.
Symptoms usually develop within two to eight days and include fever, headache, chills, and weakness.
The CDC estimates that 80 percent of plague cases in the US have been bubonic.
The bubonic plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, which is found in rodents (and the fleas that bite those animals). When infected, patients experience a wide array of symptoms (headache, fever, chills) to swollen lymph nodes known as buboes, from which the disease takes its name.
“The buboes form at the site of the bite from the infected rodent or flea,” explained Erica Susky, a certified infection control practitioner based in Canada.
While there is no vaccine, the plague can be remedied with antibiotics if caught early.
However, it can also become fatal if left untreated.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/03/man-in-new-mexico-dies-from-plague-in-nations-first-fatal-case-since-2020/

 Tragic: Bodycam Footage Shows Man Stabbing Police Officer to Death Before Armed Civilian Stops Him.

(The only thing good about this story is that Armando Silva is DEAD. Wait, I take that back, the best thing about this story is that there are still brave Americans like Issiah Astorga willing to step up and do the right thing and shoot worthless pieces of shit like Silva DEAD in defense of other good Americans like Officer Jonah Hernandez, R.I.P.)
In February, a police officer in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was viciously murdered by a suspect after responding to an emergency call. The local police department has released bodycam footage showing the tragic altercation that ended in the death of both the officer and his assailant.
Amid widespread staffing shortages among the nation’s police departments, this situation further illustrates not only the dangers officers can face, but also why it is important for civilians to be armed.
On a day that began like any other, Officer Jonah Hernandez responded to the call that would ultimately cost him his life. The released footage shows his encounter with 29-year-old Armando Silva, who stabbed the officer to death.
Hernandez responded to a trespassing call by the property owner at approximately 4:49 p.m. According to Story, the property owner confronted Silva for trespassing on the day before the attack.
There are 'No Trespassing' signs on the property, where Story said there has been a history of trespassing, vandalism and people leaving needles.
Story said at the same time the call was made, there were two other men who allegedly had cut a hole in the fence and were in the back part of the property.
Surveillance video captured by cameras on the property show Silva, in a dark hoodie and dark pants, walking around the building to a canopy in the back part of the property. Silva can see when Hernandez parks his vehicle along Valley at 4:55 p.m. and approaches.
On video captured by a body camera, Hernandez asks Silva if he is the person who made the trespassing complaint at the property.
Silva immediately approaches Hernandez with a knife in his right hand. Hernandez turns to run, but is stabbed before falling, after which Silva stabs Hernandez several more times. Hernandez is able to get to his feet, but falls.
It is about this moment that Silva notices another individual approaching him. On Thursday, LCPD identified 29-year-old Issiah Astorga as the man who intervened in the attack, ultimately shooting and killing Silva.
Neither surveillance footage nor body camera footage show the interaction between Astorga and Silva, but three gun shots in succession can be heard from Hernandez's body cam video, followed by another gunshot before Astorga is seen approaching Hernandez. Astorga and another person attempt to render aide to Hernandez and call for help.
*Warning: Graphic footage:

https://twitter.com/eclipsethis2003/status/1764661123351994564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1764661123351994564%7Ctwgr%5E40ddd21643d7d788a53c224723f8d48bbdaaf6b1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fjeffc%2F2024%2F03%2F05%2Ftragic-bodycam-footage-shows-man-stabbing-police-officer-to-death-before-armed-civilian-stops-him-n2170987

Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story reacted to the tragedy, pledging that he “will not stop until we see the change that makes Las Cruces and New Mexico safer.”
The incident further spotlights the growing need for enhanced safety measures, increased staffing, and a reevaluation of strategies to manage criminal activity and mental health issues in the community.
Silva was a homeless individual who had a known history of mental illness and criminal behavior, which adds another layer of complexity to this case, as well as others. It demonstrates the importance of the conversation on the best ways law enforcement officers should interact with those facing mental health problems.
The tragic incident also underscores the importance of an armed citizenry. While Astorga was unable to stop Silva from killing Officer Hernandez, it is quite possible that he saved other lives by taking action and using his firearm to stop the assailant. His decisive action would not have been possible if he had been unarmed.
Officer Hernandez’s death is a disturbing reminder of the risks law enforcement officers face while carrying out their duties. As the community grapples with this tragedy, it appears the department plans to honor the officer’s memory by implementing substantive changes to safeguard officers responding to these types of calls.

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2024/03/05/tragic-bodycam-footage-shows-man-stabbing-police-officer-to-death-before-armed-civilian-stops-him-n2170987

 On This Date In History

On February 24, 1836, in San Antonio, Texas, Colonel William Travis issues a call for help on behalf of the Texan troops defending the Alamo, an old Spanish mission and fortress under attack by the Mexican army.
A native of Alabama, Travis moved to the Mexican state of Texas in 1831. He soon became a leader of the growing movement to overthrow the Mexican government and establish an independent Texan republic. When the Texas revolution began in 1835, Travis became a lieutenant-colonel in the revolutionary army and was given command of troops in the recently captured city of San Antonio de Bexar (now San Antonio). On February 23, 1836, a large Mexican force commanded by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana arrived suddenly in San Antonio. Travis and his troops took shelter in the Alamo, where they were soon joined by a volunteer force led by Colonel James Bowie.
Though Santa Ana’s 5,000 troops heavily outnumbered the several hundred Texans, Travis and his men determined not to give up. On February 24, they answered Santa Ana’s call for surrender with a bold shot from the Alamo’s cannon. Furious, the Mexican general ordered his forces to launch a siege. Travis immediately recognized his disadvantage and sent out several messages via couriers asking for reinforcements. Addressing one of the pleas to “The People of Texas and All Americans in the World,” Travis signed off with the now-famous phrase “Victory or Death.”
Only 32 men from the nearby town of Gonzales responded to Travis’ call for help, and beginning at 5:30 a.m. on March 6, Mexican forces stormed the Alamo through a gap in the fort’s outer wall, killing Travis, Bowie, the legendary Davy Crockett and 190 of their men. Despite the loss of the fort, the Texan troops managed to inflict huge losses on their enemy, killing at least 600 of Santa Ana’s men.
The defense of the Alamo became a powerful symbol for the Texas revolution, helping the rebels turn the tide in their favor. At the crucial Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 910 Texan soldiers commanded by Sam Houston defeated Santa Ana’s army of 1,250 men, spurred on by cries of “Remember the Alamo!” The next day, after Texan forces captured Santa Ana himself, the general issued orders for all Mexican troops to pull back behind the Rio Grande River. On May 14, 1836, Texas officially became an independent republic.

 

 

 

 

On February 24, 1917, during World War I, British authorities give Walter H. Page, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, a copy of the “Zimmermann Telegram,” a coded message from Arthur Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary, to Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to Mexico. In the telegram, intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence in late January, Zimmermann stated that in the event of war with the United States, Mexico should be asked to enter the conflict as a German ally. In return, Germany promised to restore to Mexico the lost territories of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
After receiving the telegram, Page promptly sent a copy to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who in early March allowed the U.S. State Department to publish the note. The press initially treated the telegram as a hoax, but Arthur Zimmermann himself confirmed its authenticity. The Zimmermann Telegram helped turn U.S. public opinion, already severely strained by repeated German attacks on U.S. ships, firmly against Germany. On April 2, President Wilson, who had initially sought a peaceful resolution to end World War I, urged the immediate U.S. entrance into the war. Four days later, Congress formally declared war against Germany.

 

 On This Date In History

On January 6, 1838, Samuel Morse’s telegraph system is demonstrated for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey. The telegraph, a device which used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, would eventually revolutionize long-distance communication, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 1930s.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He attended Yale University, where he was interested in art, as well as electricity, still in its infancy at the time. After college, Morse became a painter. In 1832, while sailing home from Europe, he heard about the newly discovered electromagnet and came up with an idea for an electric telegraph. He had no idea that other inventors were already at work on the concept.
Morse spent the next several years developing a prototype and took on two partners, Leonard Gale and Alfred Vail, to help him. In 1838, he demonstrated his invention using Morse code, in which dots and dashes represented letters and numbers. In 1843, Morse finally convinced a skeptical Congress to fund the construction of the first telegraph line in the United States, from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. In May 1844, Morse sent the first official telegram over the line, with the message: “What hath God wrought!”
Over the next few years, private companies, using Morse’s patent, set up telegraph lines around the Northeast. In 1851, the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company was founded; it would later change its name to Western Union. In 1861, Western Union finished the first transcontinental line across the United States. Five years later, the first successful permanent line across the Atlantic Ocean was constructed and by the end of the century telegraph systems were in place in Africa, Asia and Australia.
Because telegraph companies typically charged by the word, telegrams became known for their succinct prose, whether they contained happy or sad news. The word “stop,” which was free, was used in place of a period, for which there was a charge. In 1933, Western Union introduced singing telegrams. During World War II, Americans came to dread the sight of Western Union couriers because the military used telegrams to inform families about soldiers’ deaths.
Over the course of the 20th century, telegraph messages were largely replaced by cheap long-distance phone service, faxes and email. Western Union delivered its final telegram in January 2006.
Samuel Morse died wealthy and famous in New York City on April 2, 1872, at age 80.

On January 6, 1912, New Mexico is admitted into the United States as the 47th state.
Spanish explorers passed through the area that would become New Mexico in the early 16th century, encountering the well-preserved remains of a 13th-century Pueblo civilization. Exaggerated rumors about the hidden riches of these Pueblo cities encouraged the first full-scale Spanish expedition into New Mexico, led by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1540. Instead of encountering the long-departed Pueblo people, the Spanish explorers met other Indigenous groups, like the Apaches, who were fiercely resistant to the early Spanish missions and ranches in the area.
In 1609, Pedro de Peralta was made governor of the “Kingdom and Provinces of New Mexico,” and a year later he founded its capital at Santa Fe. In the late 17th century, Apache opposition to Spain’s colonial efforts briefly drove the Spanish out of New Mexico, but within a few decades they had returned. During the 18th century, the colonists expanded their ranching efforts and made attempts at farming and mining in the region.
When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, New Mexico became a province of Mexico, and trade was opened with the United States. In the next year, American settlers began arriving in New Mexico via the Santa Fe Trail. In 1846, the Mexican-American War erupted, and U.S. General Stephen W. Kearny captured and occupied Santa Fe without significant Mexican opposition. Two years later, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded New Mexico to the United States, and in 1853 the territory was expanded to its present size through the Gadsden Purchase.
The Apache and the Navaho resisted the colonial efforts of the U.S. as they had those of Spain and Mexico, and after three decades of bloodshed, Indian resistance finally ended with the surrender of Geronimo, chief of the Chiricahua Apaches, in 1886. After the suppression of New Mexico’s natives, the population of New Mexico expanded considerably, and many came to participate in the ranching boom brought on by the opening of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1879. In 1912, New Mexico was granted statehood.

 

 

Map of the later Arizona and New Mexico Territories, split from the original New Mexico Territory of 1851, showing existing counties.

 On This Date In History

On December 30, 1922, in post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established, comprising a confederation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation (divided in 1936 into the Georgian, Azerbaijan, and Armenian republics). Also known as the Soviet Union, the new communist state was the successor to the Russian Empire and the first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism.
During the Russian Revolution of 1917 and subsequent three-year Russian Civil War, the Bolshevik Party under Vladimir Lenin dominated the soviet forces, a coalition of workers’ and soldiers’ committees that called for the establishment of a socialist state in the former Russian Empire. In the USSR, all levels of government were controlled by the Communist Party, and the party’s politburo, with its increasingly powerful general secretary, effectively ruled the country. Soviet industry was owned and managed by the state, and agricultural land was divided into state-run collective farms.
In the decades after it was established, the Russian-dominated Soviet Union grew into one of the world’s most powerful and influential states and eventually encompassed 15 republics, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belorussia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved following the collapse of its communist government.

On December 30, 1853, James Gadsden, the U.S. minister to Mexico, and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the president of Mexico, sign the Gadsden Purchase in Mexico City. The treaty settled the dispute over the location of the Mexican border west of El Paso, Texas, and established the final boundaries of the southern United States. For the price of $15 million, later reduced to $10 million, the United States acquired approximately 30,000 square miles of land in what is now southern New Mexico and Arizona.
Jefferson Davis, the U.S. secretary of war under President Franklin Pierce, had sent Gadsden to negotiate with Santa Anna for the land, which was deemed by a group of political and industrial leaders to be a highly strategic location for the construction of the southern transcontinental railroad. In 1861, the “big four” leaders of western railroad construction, Collis P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker, established the Southern Pacific branch of the Central Pacific Railroad.

 

 James Gadsden, U.S. Minister to Mexico

 

 General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, President of Mexico

 

 

On December 30, 1903, fire in the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois, kills more than 600 people. It was the deadliest theater fire in U.S. history. Blocked fire exits and the lack of a fire-safety plan caused most of the deaths.
The Iroquois Theater, designed by Benjamin Marshall in a Renaissance style, was highly luxurious and had been deemed fireproof upon its opening in 1903. In fact, George Williams, Chicago’s building commissioner, and fire inspector Ed Laughlin looked over the theater in November 1903 and declared that it was “fireproof beyond all doubt.” They also noted its 30 exits, 27 of which were double doors. However, at the same time, William Clendenin, the editor of Fireproof magazine, also inspected the Iroquois and wrote a scathing editorial about its fire dangers, pointing out that there was a great deal of wood trim, no fire alarm and no sprinkler system over the stage.
During the matinee performance of December 30, while a full house was watching Eddie Foy star in Mr. Bluebeard, 27 of the theater’s 30 exits were locked. In addition, stage manager Bill Carlton went out front to watch the show with the 2,000 patrons while the other stage hands left the theater and went out for a drink. It was a spotlight operator who first noticed that one of the calcium lights seemed to have sparked a fire backstage. The cluttered area was full of fire fuel, wooden stage props and oily rags.
When the actors became aware of the fire, they scattered backstage; Foy later returned and tried to calm the audience, telling them to stay seated. An asbestos curtain was to be lowered that would confine the fire but when it wouldn’t come fully down, a panic began. It later turned out to be made of paper so it wouldn’t have helped in any case. Soon, all the lights inside the theater went out and there were stampedes near the open exits. When the back door was opened, the shift of air caused a fireball to roar through the backstage area.
The teenage ushers working the theater fled immediately, forgetting to open the locked emergency exit doors. The few doors that were able to be forced open were four feet above the sidewalk, which slowed down the exiting process. Most of the 591 people who died were seated in the balconies. There were no fire escapes or ladders to assist them and some took their chances and jumped. The bodies were piled six deep near the narrow balcony exits. In fact, some people were knocked down by the falling bodies and were eventually pulled out alive from under burned victims.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Williams was later charged and convicted of misfeasance. Chicago’s mayor was also indicted, though the charges didn’t stick. The theater owner was convicted of manslaughter due to the poor safety provisions; the conviction was later appealed and reversed. In fact, the only person to serve any jail time in relation to this disaster was a nearby saloon owner who had robbed the dead bodies while his establishment served as a makeshift morgue following the fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On December 30, 1862, the U.S.S. Monitor sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Just nine months earlier, the ship had been part of a revolution in naval warfare when the ironclad dueled to a standstill with the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimack) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in one of the most famous naval battles in American history, the first time two ironclads faced each other in a naval engagement.
After the famous duel, the Monitor provided gun support on the James River for George B. McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign. By December 1862, it was clear the Monitor was no longer needed in Virginia, so she was sent to Beaufort, North Carolina, to join a fleet being assembled for an attack on Charleston, South Carolina. The Monitor served well in the sheltered waters of Chesapeake Bay, but the heavy, low-slung ship was a poor craft for the open sea. The U.S.S. Rhode Island towed the ironclad around the rough waters of Cape Hatteras. Since December is a treacherous time for any ship off North Carolina, the decision to move the Monitor could be considered questionable. As the Monitor pitched and swayed in the rough seas, the caulking around the gun turret loosened and water began to leak into the hull. More leaks developed as the journey continued. High seas tossed the craft, causing the ship’s flat armor bottom to slap the water. Each roll opened more seams, and by nightfall on December 30, the Monitor was in dire straits.
The Monitor’s commander, J.P. Bankhead, signaled the Rhode Island that he wished to abandon ship. The wooden side-wheeler pulled as close as safety allowed to the stricken ironclad, and two lifeboats were lowered to retrieve the crew. Many of the sailors were rescued, but some men were terrified to venture onto the deck in such rough seas. The ironclad’s pumps stopped working and the ship sank before 16 crew members could be rescued.
Although the Monitor’s service was brief, it signaled a new era in naval combat. The Virginia’s arrival off Hampton Roads terrified the U.S. Navy, but the Monitor leveled the playing field. Both sides had ironclads, and the advantage would go to the side that could build more of them. Northern industry would win that battle for the Union.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hot Foot Teddy," later renamed 'Smokey Bear,' stands on the plane that was used to rescue him. He was burned in 1950 in a forest fire in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. Ray Bell, the New Mexico Game and Fish Commission Warden who nursed him back to health, stands beside the plane. Smokey Bear would live 26 years, passing away in 1976.

 U.S. Forest Service Sparked New Mexico Wildfire.

The U.S. Forest Service revealed Monday the agency caused a New Mexico wildfire in the spring of last year that burned across 60 square miles and almost reached Los Alamos.
The Cerro Pelado fire, which burned in April 2022 under dry and windy conditions, threatened the city of nearly 20,000 people and forced the evacuation of nearby schools before firefighters were able to get the blaze under control. A nearby national security lab also faced flames “where assessing apocalyptic threats is a specialty and wildland fire is a beguiling equation,” according to the Associated Press.
A Monday report from the U.S. Forest Services concluded the federal agency was to blame over a prescribed burn that officials failed to fully extinguish.
U.S. Forest Service Southwestern Regional Forester Michiko Martin said in a press release the fire “was caused by a holdover fire from the Pino West Piles Prescribed Fire.”
“A holdover fire is a fire that smolders undetectably,” Martin said. “In this case, despite being covered by wet snow, this holdover fire remained dormant for [a] considerable time with no visible sign of smoke or heat.”
Last year’s wildfire was not the first time an investigation found the Forest Service culpable in runaway flames. Last year, the forest agency claimed responsibility for a pair of wildfires that merged into the largest blaze in New Mexico state history since tracking began in 1990. The Calf Canyon Fire torched at least 330 homes and displaced thousands across 312,000 acres, according to The New York Times.
The fire, which burned at the same time as the Cerro Pelado, was also caused by a prescribed burn that officials failed to put out.
Veteran Forester Joe Reddan has warned about the overreliance on prescribed burns to manage overgrown forests for decades. Reddan, who now runs his own forestry consulting firm, said the kind of slash pile burning used in the Santa Fe National Forest is a method that works “but requires diligence in monitoring.”
“You have to check those piles every day for heat,” Reddan told The Federalist. It’s the same reason campers are encouraged to stir campfire coals with water to ensure no hot ashes are left over underneath. The Santa Fe National Forest, however, apparently missed the holdover flames that burned down about 380,000 acres, or “half the state of Rhode Island,” between the Cerro Pelado Fire and the infamous Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in 2022.
Martin said the fires led the service to implement a 90-day pause on prescribed burns as federal officials reviewed incumbent protocols.
“The Southwestern Region, including the Santa Fe National Forest, has since implemented all recommendations from the ‘National Prescribed Fire Program Review,'” Martin said. “Specific to the Southwestern Region, firefighters now monitor pile burns using handheld thermal devices and drones that can detect whether heat is present.”
New Mexico Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham blasted the Forest Service for federal officials’ repeated negligence in burning down the state.
“I am – again – outraged over the U.S. Forest Service’s negligence that caused this destruction,” Grisham said in a press release. “The Forest Service must abandon their business-as-usual approach to prescribed burns and forest management in our state. I am relieved to hear that the Forest Service will now use technology to prevent this from occurring in the future. We will continue to hold the federal government accountable for each of the disastrous fires they caused in our state last summer.”

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/27/u-s-forest-service-sparked-new-mexico-wildfire/

 On This Date In History

The first-ever detonation of a nuclear weapon, code-named “Trinity,” took place at 5:29 a.m. on July 16th, 1945. Giving birth to the atomic age, this was a culmination of efforts by the scientists of the Manhattan Project.
It was conducted by the United States Army as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, on what was then the USAAF Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, now part of White Sands Missile Range.
The only structures originally in the vicinity were the McDonald Ranch House and its ancillary buildings, which scientists used as a laboratory for testing bomb components. A base camp was constructed, and there were 425 people present on the weekend of the test.
The scientists and a few dignitaries had removed themselves 10,000 yards away to observe as the first mushroom cloud of searing light stretched 40,000 feet into the air and generated the destructive power of 15,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT. The tower on which the bomb sat when detonated was vaporized.
The question now became, on whom was the bomb to be dropped? Germany was the original target, but the Germans had already surrendered. The only belligerent remaining was Japan.
The code name "Trinity" was assigned by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, inspired by the poetry of John Donne. The test was of an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed "The Gadget", of the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.
The complexity of the design required a major effort from the Los Alamos Laboratory, and concerns about whether it would work led to a decision to conduct the first nuclear test.

The bomb design to be used at Trinity Site actually involved two explosions. First there would be a conventional explosion involving the TNT and then, a fraction of a second later, the nuclear explosion, if a chain reaction was maintained. The scientists were sure the TNT would explode, but were initially unsure of the plutonium. If the chain reaction failed to occur, the TNT would blow the very rare and dangerous plutonium all over the countryside.
Because of this possibility, Jumbo was designed and built. Originally it was 25 feet long, 10 feet in diameter and weighed 214 tons. Scientists were planning to put the bomb in this huge steel jug because it could contain the TNT explosion if the chain reaction failed to materialize. This would prevent the plutonium from being lost. If the explosion occurred as planned, Jumbo would be vaporized.
Jumbo was brought to Pope, N.M., by rail and unloaded. A specially built trailer with 64 wheels was used to move Jumbo the 25 miles to Trinity Site.
As confidence in the plutonium bomb design grew it was decided not to use Jumbo. Instead, it was placed in a steel tower about 800 yards from ground zero. The blast destroyed the tower, but Jumbo survived intact.
Today Jumbo rests at the entrance to ground zero so all can see it. The ends are missing because, in 1946, the Army detonated eight 500 pound bombs inside it. Because Jumbo was standing on end, the bombs were stacked in the bottom and the asymmetry of the explosion blew the ends off.

https://www.atomicarchive.com/history/trinity/landmark.html

The Trinity site is open to the public twice a year. Usually on the first Saturdays of April and October. The monument is made of lava rock and sits a few feet from the foundation of one of the four legs of the tower that housed the bomb.