Part of Arizona’s temporary container border wall ‘falls over,’ officials suspect foul play

The office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has been made aware of damage to their recently erected border wall.

Sections Arizona’s temporary border wall fell over earlier this week — and Arizona state officials do not believe the damage was caused by the weather. Initially, reports indicated that the containers placed along the border, which are 60 feet high and 22 feet long, toppled over due to strong winds.

“There still seems to be some unfounded speculation that wind knocked these things over,” Ducey’s communications director, CJ Karamargin, said, adding that that possibility was “highly unlikely.”

“One of the containers that was knocked over … shows some sort of equipment was used to move them because it dented and put a hole in one of the sides of the container,” Karamargin said. “That doesn’t happen with wind.”

Whilst Karamargin did acknowledge that Arizona is subjected to intense winds, he cited the weight of the containers as a reason why this was not possible.

“The idea that it was a weather-related event seems unlikely. These things weigh 8,800 pounds,” he told the outlet. “There were two of them together — 8,800 pounds is basically the weight of a Ford F-450. We have a lot of strong winds in Arizona. You don’t see a lot of Ford F-450s flying around when we have strong winds.”

It remains unclear how exactly the containers fell onto their side since “no one saw it happen,” Karamargin stated.

The containers were placed on the border to prevent illegal crossings, which the state has said have reached record numbers. Ducey also cited government inaction as a reason for the containers, saying: “For the last two years, Arizona has made every attempt to work with Washington to address the crisis on our border. Time and time again we’ve stepped in to clean up their mess. Arizonans can’t wait any longer for the federal government to deliver on their delayed promises.” 

“Border security is national security. We’re stepping up where the federal government won’t to prevent cartels from exploiting our communities,” Ducey said on Twitter.

Ducey’s office confirmed that as of Thursday, the closing off of two border wall gaps was “nearing completion.” Ducey also noted that not all areas of the border are suitable for his shipping container workaround.