In this Monday, Aug. 13, 2018 photo, District Court Judge Sarah C. Backus presides over the hearing in the Amalia, N.M., desert compound case in Taos,...
In this Monday, Aug. 13, 2018 photo, District Court Judge Sarah C. Backus presides over the hearing in the Amalia, N.M., desert compound case in Taos, N.M. Backus cleared the way for the release of two men and three women under conditions of house arrest including ankle monitors, despite assertions by prosecutors that the group was training children to use firearms for an anti-government mission and should remain in jail pending trial. Backus' decision to allow the release of an extended family accused of child abuse at a ramshackle desert compound set off a political uproar. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
Defendants, from left, Jany Leveille, Lucas Morton, Siraj Wahhaj and Subbannah Wahhaj enter district court in Taos, N.M., for a detention hearing, Mon...
Defendants, from left, Jany Leveille, Lucas Morton, Siraj Wahhaj and Subbannah Wahhaj enter district court in Taos, N.M., for a detention hearing, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Several defendants have been charged with child abuse stemming from the alleged neglect of 11 children found living on a squalid compound on the outskirts of tiny Amalia, New Mexico. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool)
Defendant Siraj Wahhaj sits in court in Taos, N.M., for a detention hearing, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Wahhaj and several others have been charged with c...
Defendant Siraj Wahhaj sits in court in Taos, N.M., for a detention hearing, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Wahhaj and several others have been charged with child abuse stemming from the alleged neglect of 11 children found living on a squalid compound on the outskirts of tiny Amalia, New Mexico. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool)
TAOS, N.M. (AP) — Three members of an extended family who are accused of child abuse at a ramshackle desert compound in New Mexico are awaiting release.
The Taos County courthouse has heightened security Wednesday over threats against the judge who cleared the way for the defendants to get out of jail.
State District Judge Sarah Backus' decision has sparked a political uproar along with backlash on social media.
Court officials condemned threats of violence made against the judge and evacuated several court offices Tuesday as a precaution.
The court complex reopened Wednesday with more security in place.
The decision to release four of the five defendants came Monday, despite prosecutors' assertions that the group was training children to use firearms for an anti-government mission and should remain in jail until trial.
U.S. immigration authorities took one of them into custody Tuesday.
